Chronicle of the Kings of England Book IV The Expedition to Jerusalem
by William of Malmesbury
The Expedition to Jerusalem, [A.D. 1095-1105.]
I shall now describe the expedition to Jerusalem, relating
in my own words what was seen and endured by others.
Besides too, as opportunity offers, I shall select from ancient
writers, accounts of the situation and riches of Constantinople, Antioch, and Jerusalem; in order that he who is unacquainted with these matters, and meets with this work,
may have something to communicate to others. But for
such a relation there needs a more fervent spirit, in order
to complete effectually, what I begin with such pleasure.
Invoking, therefore, the Divinity, as is usual, I begin as
follows.
In the year of the incarnation 1095, pope Urban the
second, who then filled the papal throne, passing the Alps,
came into France. The ostensible cause of his journey, was,
that, being driven from home by the violence of Guibert, he
might prevail on the churches on this side of the mountains to
acknowledge him.
His more secret intention was not so well
known; this was, by Boamund's advice, to excite almost the
whole of Europe to undertake an expedition into Asia; that
in such a general commotion of all countries, auxiliaries
might easily be engaged, by whose means both Urban might
obtain Rome; and Boamund, Illyria and Macedonia. For
Guiscard, his father, had conquered those countries from
Alexius, and also all the territory extending from Durazzo
to Thessalonica; wherefore Boamund claimed them as his
due, since he obtained not the inheritance of Apulia, which
his father had given to his younger son, Roger.
Still
nevertheless, whatever might be the cause of Urban's journey,
it turned out of great and singular advantage to the Christian
world. A council, therefore, was assembled at Clermont,1
which is the most noted city of Auvergne. The number of
bishops and abbats was three hundred and ten. Here at
first, during several days, a long discussion was carried on
concerning the catholic faith, and the establishing peace
among contending parties.2 For, in addition to those crimes
in which every one indulged, all, on this side of the Alps,
had arrived at such a calamitous state, as to take each other
captive on little or no pretence; nor were they suffered to
go free, unless ransomed at an enormous price. Again too,
the snake of simony had so reared her slippery crest, and
cherished, with poisonous warmth, her deadly eggs, that the
whole world became infected with her mortal hissing, and
tainted the honours of the church. At that time, I will not
say bishops to their sees merely, but none aspired even to
any ecclesiastical degree, except by the influence of money.
Then too, many persons putting away their lawful wives,
procured divorces, and invaded the marriage-couch of others.
Wherefore, as in both these cases, there was a mixed multitude of offenders, the names of some powerful persons were
singled out for punishment. Not to be tedious, I will subjoin the result of the whole council, abbreviating some parts,
in my own language.
In a council at Clermont, in the presence of pope Urban,
these articles were enacted. "That the catholic church
shall be pure in faith; free from all servitude: that bishops,
or abbats, or clergy of any rank, shall receive no ecclesiastical dignity from the hand of princes, or of any of the laity:
that clergymen shall not hold prebends in two churches or
cities: that no one shall be bishop and abbat at the same
time: that ecclesiastical dignities shall be bought and sold
by no one: that no person in holy orders shall be guilty of
carnal intercourse: that such as not knowing the canonical
prohibition had purchased canonries, should be pardoned;
but that they should be taken from such as knew they possesed them by their own purchase, or that of their parents:
that no layman from Ash-Wednesday, no clergyman from
Quadragesima, to Easter, shall eat flesh: that, at all times,
the first fast of the Ember Weeks, should be in the first
week of Lent: that orders should be conferred, at all times,
on the evening of Saturday, or on a Sunday, continuing fasting:3 that on Easter-eve, service should not be celebrated
till after the ninth hour: that the second fast should be
observed in the week of Pentecost: that from our Lord's
Advent, to the octave of the Epiphany; from Septuagesima
to the octaves of Easter; from the first day of the Rogations
to the octaves of Pentecost; and from the fourth day of the
week at sunset, at all times, to the second day in the following week at sunrise, the Truce of God be observed:4 that
whoever laid violent hands on a bishop should be excommunicated: that whoever laid violent hands on clergymen or
their servants should be accursed: that whoever seized the
goods of bishops or clergymen at their deaths, should be
accursed: that whoever married a relation, even in the sixth
degree of consanguinity, should be accursed: that none
should be chosen bishop, except a priest, deacon, or subdeacon who was of noble descent, unless under pressing
necessity, and licence from the pope: that the sons of priests
and concubines should not be advanced to the priesthood,
unless they first made their vow: that whosoever fled to the
church, or the cross, should, being insured from loss of limb,
be delivered up to justice; or if innocent, be released: that
every church should enjoy its own tithes, nor pass them
away to another: that laymen should neither buy nor sell
tithes; that no fee should be demanded for the burial of the
dead.
In this council the pope excommunicated Philip, king
of France, and all who called him king or lord, and obeyed
or spoke to him, unless for the purpose of correcting him: in
like manner too his accursed consort, and all who called her
queen or lady, till they so far reformed as to separate from
each other; and also Guibert of Ravenna, who calls himself pope: and Henry, emperor of Germany, who supports
him."
Afterwards, a clear and forcible discourse, such as should
come from a priest, was addressed to the people, on the subject of an expedition of the Christians, against the Turks.
This I have thought fit to transmit to posterity, as I have
learned it from those who were present, preserving its
sense unimpaired. For who can preserve the force of
that eloquence? We shall be fortunate, if, treading an
adjacent path, we come even by a circuitous route to its
meaning.
"You recollect,"5 said he, "my dearest brethren, many
things which have been decreed for you, at this time; some
matters, in our council, commanded; others inhibited. A
rude and confused chaos of crimes required the deliberation
of many days; an inveterate malady demanded a sharp
remedy. For while we give unbounded scope to our
clemency, our papal office finds numberless matters to
proscribe; none to spare. But it has hitherto arisen
from human frailty, that you have erred, and that,
deceived by the speciousness of vice, you have exasperated
the long suffering of God, by too lightly regarding his
forbearance. It has arisen too from human wantonness,
that, disregarding lawful wedlock, you have not duly
considered the heinousness of adultery. From too great
covetousness also, it has arisen, that, as opportunity offered,
making captive your brethren, bought by the same great
price, you have outrageously extorted from them their
wealth. To you, however, now suffering this perilous
shipwreck of sin, a secure haven of rest is offered,
unless you neglect it. A station of perpetual safety will
be awarded you, for the exertion of a trifling labour against
the Turks. Compare, now, the labours which you underwent
in the practice of wickedness, and those which you will
encounter in the undertaking I advise. The intention of
committing adultery, or murder, begets many fears; for, as
Soloman says, 'There is nothing more timid than guilt:'
many labours; for what is more toilsome than wickedness?
But, 'He who walks uprightly, walks securely.' Of these
labours, of these fears, the end was sin; the wages of sin is
death; the death of sinners is most dreadful. Now the same
labours and apprehensions are required from you, for a better
consideration. The cause of these labours, will be charity;
if thus warned by the command of God, you lay down your
lives for the brethren: the wages of charity will be the grace
of God; the grace of God is followed by eternal life. Go
then prosperously: Go, then, with confidence, to attack the
enemies of God. For they long since, oh sad reproach to
Christians! have seized Syria, Armenia, and lastly, all Asia
Minor, the provinces of which are Bithynia, Phrygia,
Galatia, Lydia, Caria, Pamphylia, Isauria, Lycia, Cilicia;
and, now they insolently domineer over lllyricum, and all
the hither countries, even to the sea which is called the
Straits of St. George. Nay, they usurp even the sepulchre
of our Lord, that singular assurance of our faith; and sell
to our pilgrims admissions to that city, which ought, had
they a trace of their ancient courage left, to be open to
Christians only. This alone might be enough to cloud our
brows; but now, who except the most abandoned, or the
most envious of Christian reputation, can endure that we do
not divide the world equally with them? They inhabit Asia,
the third portion of the world, as their native soil, which was
justly esteemed by our ancestors equal, by the extent of its
tracts and greatness of its provinces, to the two remaining
parts. There, formerly, sprang up the first germs of our
faith; there, all the apostles, except two, consecrated their
deaths; there, at the present day, the Christians, if any
survive, sustaining life by a wretched kind of agriculture,
pay these miscreants tribute, and even with stifled sighs,
long for the participation of your liberty, since they have
lost their own. They hold Africa also, another quarter of
the world, already possessed by their arms for more than
two hundred years; which on this account I pronounce
derogatory to Christian honour, because that country was
anciently the nurse of celebrated geniuses, who, by their
divine writings, will mock the rust of antiquity as long as
there shall be a person who can relish Roman literature:6
the learned know the truth of what I say. Europe, the
third portion of the world remains; of which, how small a
part do we Christians inhabit? for who can call all those
barbarians who dwell in remote islands of the Frozen Ocean,
Christians, since they live after a savage manner? Even
this small portion of the world, belonging to us, is oppressed
by the Turks and Saracens. Thus for three hundred years,
Spain and the Balearic isles have been subjugated to them,
and the possession of the remainder is eagerly anticipated
by feeble men, who, not having courage to engage in close
encounter, love a flying mode of warfare. For the Turk
never ventures upon close fight; but, when driven from his
station, bends his bow at a distance, and trusts the winds
with his meditated wound; and as he has poisoned arrows,
venom, and not valour, inflicts the death on the man he
strikes. Whatever he effects, then, I attribute to fortune,
not to courage, because he wars by flight, and by poison. It
is apparent too, that every race, born in that region, being
scorched with the intense heat of the sun, abounds more in
reflexion, than in blood; and, therefore, they avoid coming
to close quarters, because they are aware how little blood
they possess. Whereas the people who are born amid the
polar frosts, and distant from the sun's heat, are less cautious
indeed; but, elate from their copious and luxuriant flow of
blood, they fight with the greatest alacrity. You are a nation
born in the more temperate regions of the world; who may
be both prodigal of blood, in defiance of death and wounds;
and are not deficient in prudence. For you equally preserve
good conduct in camp, and are considerate in battle. Thus
endued with skill and with valour, you undertake a memorable expedition. You will be extolled throughout all ages, if
you rescue your brethren from danger. To those present, in
God's name, I command this; to the absent I enjoin it. Let
such as are going to fight for Christianity, put the form of
the cross upon their garments, that they may, outwardly,
demonstrate the love arising from their inward faith;
enjoying by the gift of God, and the privilege of St. Peter,
absolution from all their crimes: let this in the meantime
soothe the labour of their journey; satisfied that they shall
obtain, after death, the advantages of a blessed martyrdom.
Putting an end to your crimes then, that Christians may
at least live peaceably in these countries, go, and employ in
nobler warfare, that valour, and that sagacity, which you
used to waste in civil broils: Go, soldiers every where
renowned in fame, go, and subdue these dastardly nations.
Let the noted valour of the French advance, which,
accompanied by its adjoining nations, shall affright the
whole world by the single terror of its name. But why do
I delay you longer by detracting from the courage of the
gentiles? Rather bring to your recollection the saying of
God, 'Narrow is the way which leadeth to life.' Be it so
then: the track to be followed is narrow, replete with death.
and terrible with dangers; still this path will lead to your
lost country. No doubt you must, 'by much tribulation
enter into the kingdom of God.' Place then, before your
imagination, if you shall be made captive, torments and
chains; nay, every possible suffering that can be inflicted.
Expect, for the firmness of your faith, even horrible punishments; that so, if it be necessary, you may redeem your
souls at the expense of your bodies. Do you fear death?
you men of exemplary courage and intrepidity. Surely
human wickedness can devise nothing against you, worthy
to be put in competition with heavenly glory: for the
sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared
'to the glory which shall be revealed in us.' Know ye not,
'that for men to live is wretchedness, and happiness to
die?' This doctrine, if you remember, you imbibed with
your mother's milk, through the preaching of the clergy:
and this doctrine your ancestors, the martyrs, held out by
example. Death sets free from its filthy prison the human
soul, which then takes flight for the mansions fitted to its
virtues. Death accelerates their country to the good: death
cuts short the wickedness of the ungodly. By means of
death, then, the soul, made free, is either soothed with joyful
hope, or is punished without farther apprehension of worse.
So long as it is fettered to the body, it derives from it
earthly contagion; or to say more truly, is dead. For,
earthly with heavenly, and divine with mortal, ill agree.
The soul, indeed, even now, in its state of union with the
body, is capable of great efforts; it gives life to its instrument, secretly moving and animating it to exertions almost
beyond mortal nature. But when, freed from the clog which
drags it to the earth, it regains its proper station, it partakes
of a blessed and perfect energy, communicating after some
measure with the invisibility of the divine nature. Discharging a double office, therefore, it ministers life to the
body when it is present, and the cause of its change, when
it departs. You must observe how pleasantly the soul wakes
in the sleeping body, and, apart from the senses, sees many
future events, from the principle of its relationship to the
Deity. Why then do ye fear death, who love the repose of
sleep, which resembles death? Surely it must be madness,
through lust of a transitory life, to deny yourselves that
which is eternal. Rather, my dearest brethren, should it so
happen, lay down your lives for the brotherhood. Rid God's
sanctuary of the wicked: expel the robbers: bring in the
pious. Let no love of relations detain you; for man's
chiefest love is towards God. Let no attachment to your
native soil be an impediment; because, in different points
of view, all the world is exile to the Christian, and all the
world his country. Thus exile is his country, and his
country exile. Let none be restrained from going by the
largeness of his patrimony, for a still larger is promised
him; not of such things as soothe the miserable with vain
expectation, or flatter the indolent disposition with the mean
advantages of wealth, but of such as are shewn by perpetual
example and approved by daily experience. Yet these too
are pleasant, but vain, and which, to such as despise them,
produce reward a hundred-fold. These things I publish,
these I command: and for their execution I fix the end of
the ensuing spring. God will be gracious to those who
undertake this expedition, that they may have a favourable
year, both in abundance of produce, and in serenity of
season. Those who may die will enter the mansions of
heaven; while the living shall behold the sepulchre of the
Lord. And what can be greater happiness, than for a man,
in his life-time, to see those places, where the Lord of
heaven was conversant as a man? Blessed are they, who,
called to these occupations, shall inherit such a recompence:
fortunate are those who are led to such a conflict, that they
may partake of such rewards."
I have adhered to the tenor of this address, retaining
some few things unaltered, on account of the truth of the remarks, but omitting many. The bulk of the auditors were
extremely excited, and attested their sentiments by a shout;
pleased with the speech, and inclined to the pilgrimage. And
immediately, in presence of the council, some of the nobility,
falling down at the knees of the pope, consecrated themselves
and their property to the service of God.
Among these was
Aimar, the very powerful bishop of Puy, who afterwards
ruled the army by his prudence, and augmented it through
his eloquence.
In the month of November, then, in which
this council was held, each departed to his home: and the
report of this good resolution soon becoming general, it
gently wafted a cheering gale over the minds of the Christians: which being universally diffused, there was no nation
so remote, no people so retired, as not to contribute its portion. This ardent love not only inspired the continental
provinces, but even all who had heard the name of Christ,
whether in the most distant islands, or savage countries.
The Welshman left his hunting; the Scot his fellowship with
lice;7 the Dane his drinking party; the Norwegian his raw
fish. Lands were deserted of their husbandmen; houses of
their inhabitants; even whole cities migrated. There was
no regard to relationship; affection to their country was
held in little esteem; God alone was placed before their eyes.
Whatever was stored in granaries, or hoarded in chambers,
to answer the hopes of the avaricious husbandman, or the
covetousness of the miser, all, all was deserted; they hungered and thirsted after Jerusalem alone. Joy attended such
as proceeded; while grief oppressed those who remained.
But why do I say remained? You might see the husband
departing with his wife, indeed, with all his family; you
would smile to see the whole household laden on a carriage,
about to proceed on their journey.8 The road was too narrow for the passengers, the path too confined for the travellers, so thickly were they thronged with endless multitudes.
The number surpassed all human imagination, though the
itinerants were estimated at six millions.9 Doubtless, never
did so many nations unite in one opinion; never did so immense a population subject their unruly passions to one, and
almost to no, direction. For the strangest wonder to behold
was, that such a countless multitude marched gradually
through various Christian countries without plundering,
though there was none to restrain them. Mutual regard
blazed forth in all; so that if any one found in his possession
what he knew did not belong to him, he exposed it everywhere for several days to be owned; and the desire of the
finder was suspended, till perchance the wants of the loser
might be repaired.10
The long-looked for month of March was now at hand,
when, the hoary garb of winter being laid aside, the world,
clad in vernal bloom, invited the pilgrims to the confines of
the east; nor, such was the ardour of their minds, did they
seek delay. Godfrey, duke of Lorraine, proceeded by way of
Hungary: second to none in military virtue, and, descended
from the ancient lineage of Charles the Great, he inherited
much of Charles both in blood and in mind. He was followed by the Frisons, Lorrainers, Saxons, and all the people
who dwell between the Rhine and the Garonne.11
Raimund,
earl of St. Giles, and Aimar, bishop of Puy, nobly matched
in valour, and alike noted for spirit against the enemy and
piety to God, took the route of Dalmatia. Under their
standard marched the Goths and Gascons, and all the people
scattered throughout the Pyrenees and the Alps.
Before
them, by a shorter route, went Boamund, an Apulian by
residence, but a Norman by descent. For embarking at
Brindisi, and landing at Durazzo, he marched to Constantinople by roads with which he was well acquainted. Under
his command, Italy, and the whole adjacent province, from
the Tuscan sea to the Adriatic, joined in the war.
All these
assembling at the same time at Constantinople, partook somewhat of mutual joy. Here, too, they found Hugh the Great,
brother of Philip, king of France: for having inconsiderately,
and with a few soldiers, entered the territories of the emperor, he was taken by his troops, and detained in free custody.
But Alexius, emperor of Constantinople, alarmed at the arrival of these chiefs, willingly, but, as it were, induced by their
entreaties, released him. Alexius was a man famed for his
duplicity, and never attempted any thing of importance,
unless by stratagem. He had taken off Guiscard, as I before
related, by poison, and had corrupted his wife by gold;
falsely promising by his emissaries to marry her.
Again,
too, he allowed William, earl of Poitou, to be led into an
ambush of the Turks, and, after losing sixty thousand soldiers, to escape almost unattended; being incensed at his
reply, when he refused homage to the Greek.
In after time,
he laid repeated snares for Boamund, who was marching
against him to avenge the injuries of the crusaders; and
when these failed he bereaved him of his brother Guido, and
of almost all his army; making use of his usual arts either
in poisoning the rivers, or their garments: but of this hereafter. Now, however, removing the army from the city, and
mildly addressing the chiefs, his Grecian eloquence proved
so powerful, that he obtained from them all homage, and an
oath, that they would form no plot against him; and that if
they could subdue the cities pertaining to his empire, they
would restore them to him, thus purchasing another's advantage at the expense of their own blood. The credit of maintaining his liberty appeared more estimable to Raimund
alone; so that he neither did homage to him, nor took the
oath.
<--Battle of Civetot-->
Collecting, then, all their forces, they made an attack
on Nicea, a city of Bithynia: for they chose to assault this
first, both as it was an obstacle to the crusaders, and as they
were eager to revenge the death of those pilgrims who had
recently been slain there. For one Walter, a distinguished
soldier, but precipitate, (for you will scarcely see prudence
and valour united in the same person, as one retards what
the other advances,) incautiously roaming around the walls,
had perished with a numerous party, which Peter the hermit
had allured, by his preaching, from their country.
Now, too, in the month of September, Robert earl of
Normandy, brother of king William whose name is prefixed
to this book, earnestly desiring to enter on the expedition,
had as his companions Robert of Flanders, and Stephen of
Blois who had married his sister. They were earls of noble
lineage and corresponding valour. Under their command
were the English and Normans, the Western Franks and
people of Flanders, and all the tribes which occupy the continental tract from the British Ocean to the Alps. Proceeding on their journey, at Lucca they found pope Urban, who
being enraged at Guibert, as I have said, was, by the assistance of Matilda, carrying war into Italy and around the city
of Rome. He had now so far succeeded that the Roman
people, inclining to his party, were harassing that of Guibert,
both by words and blows; nor did the one faction spare the
other, either in the churches or in the streets, until Guibert,
being weakest, left the see vacant for Urban, and fled to
Germany.
A section of this chapter, on the "gates, and the multitude of its sacred relics," has been moved HERE.
Such are the Roman sanctuaries; such the sacred pledges
upon earth: and yet in the midst of this heavenly treasure,
as it where, a people drunk with senseless fury, even at the
very time the crusaders arrived, were disturbing everything
with wild ambition, and, when unable to satisfy their lust of
money, pouring out the blood of their fellow citizens over
the very bodies of the saints.32 The earls, confiding then
in Urban's benediction, having passed through Tuscany and
Campania, came by Apulia to Calabria, and would have
embarked immediately had not the seamen, on being consulted, forbade them, on account of the violence of the
southerly winds.
In consequence, the earls of Normandy
and Blois passed the winter there; sojourning each among
their friends, as convenient. The earl of Flanders, alone,
ventured to sea, experiencing a prosperous issue to a rash
attempt: wherefore part of this assembled multitude returned home through want; and part of them died from
the unwholesomeness of the climate.
The earls who remained however, when by the vernal sun's return they saw
the sea sufficiently calm for the expedition, committed themselves to the ocean, and, by Christ's assistance, landed safely
at two ports. Thence, through Thessaly, the metropolis of
which is Thessalonica, and Thracia, they came to Constantinople. Many of the lower order perished on the march
through disease and want; many lost their lives at the Devil's Ford, as it is called from its rapidity; and more indeed
would have perished, had not the advanced cavalry been
stationed in the river, to break the violence of the current;
by which means the lives of some were saved, and the rest
passed over on horseback. The whole multitude then, to
solace themselves for their past labours, indulged in rest
for fifteen days, pitching their camp in the suburbs of the
city; of which, as the opportunity has presented itself, I
shall briefly speak.
A section of this chapter, on Constantinople and its Emperors, has been moved HERE.
The earls, then, of Normandy and Blois, did homage to
the Greek. For the earl of Flanders had already passed on,
disdaining to perform this ceremony, from the recollection
that he was freely born and educated.
The others, giving
and receiving promises of fidelity, proceeded in the first week
of June to Nice, which the rest had already besieged from
the middle of May. Uniting, therefore, their forces, much
carnage ensued on either side; since every kind of weapon
could easily be hurled by the townsmen on those who were
beneath them; and the arm even of the weakest had effect
on persons crowded together. Moreover the Turks dragged
up, with iron hooks, numberless dead bodies of our people,
to mangle them in mockery; or to cast them down again
when stripped of their raiment. The Franks were grieved
at this: nor did they cease venting their rage by slaughter,
till the Turks, wearied by extremity of suffering, on the day
of the summer solstice, surrendered themselves to the emperor by means of secret messengers. He, who knew only
how to consult his own advantage, gave orders to the Franks
to depart: choosing rather, that the city should be reserved
for the undisguised disloyalty of the Turks, than the distrusted power of the Franks. He ordered, however, silver
and gold to be distributed to the chiefs, and copper coin to
those of inferior rank, lest they should complain of being
unrewarded.
Thus the Turks, who, passing the Euphrates,
had now for the space of fifty years been possessed of
Bithynia, which is a part of Asia Minor that is called Romania, betook themselves to flight to the eastward. Nevertheless, when the siege was ended, they attempted, at the instigation of Soliman,40 who had been sovereign of all Romania,
to harass the army on its advance. This man collecting, as
is computed, three hundred and sixty thousand archers,
attacked our people, expecting anything rather than hostility,
with such violence, that overwhelmed with an iron shower of
arrows, they were terrified and turned their backs. At that
time, by chance, duke Godfrey and Hugh the Great, and
Raimund, had taken another route, that they might plunder
the enemies' country to a wider extent, and obtain forage
with more facility. But the Norman, sensible of his extreme
danger, by means of expeditious messengers on a safe track,
acquainted Godfrey and the rest of the approach of the
Turks. They without a moment's delay, turned against the
enemy, and delivered their associates from danger. For
these were now indiscriminately slaughtered in their tents,
unprepared for resistance, and filling the air with prayers and
lamentations. Nor did the enemy take any particular aim,
but trusting his arrows to the wind, he never, from the
thickness of the ranks, drew his bow in vain. What alone
retarded destruction was, that the attack took place near a
thicket of canes, which prevented the Turks from riding full
speed. At length, however, perceiving the advanced guard
of the approaching chiefs, the Christians left the thicket,
and shouting the military watch-word, "It is the will of
God,"41 they attack the scattered ranks of the enemy, making
a signal to their companions, at the same time to assail them
in the rear. Thus the Turks, pressed on either side, forthwith fled, shrieking with a dreadful cry, and raising a yell
which reached the clouds. Nor had they recourse to their
customary practice of a flying battle, but throwing down
their bows, they manifested, by a flight of three successive
days, something greater than mere human apprehension.
Nor was there, indeed, any person to follow them; for our
horses, scarce able to support life on the barren turf, were
unequal to a vigorous pursuit: showing immediately their
want of strength by their panting sides. Asia was formerly,
it is true, a land most fruitful in corn; but, both in distant
and in recent times, it had been so plundered by the savage
Turks, that it could scarcely suffice for the maintenance of a
small army, much less of a multitude, so vast as to threaten
devouring whole harvests and drinking rivers dry. For,
when they departed from Nice, they were still estimated at
seven hundred thousand: of the remainder, part had been
wasted by the sword, part by sickness, and still more had
deserted to their homes.
Thence, then, they arrived at Heraclea by the route of
Antioch and Iconium, cities of Pisidia. Here they beheld in
the sky a portent fashioned like a flaming sword; the point
of which extended towards the east. All the period from
the kalends of July, when they left Nice, till the nones of
October, had elapsed when they arrived at Antioch in Syria.
The situation of this city, I should describe, had not my wish
in this respect been anticipated by the eloquence of Ambrosius in Hegesippus:42 were I not also fearful, that I may be
blamed for the perpetual digressions of my narrative. Still,
however, I will relate so much as the labour I have undertaken seems to require.
Antioch, which was named after his father, Antiochus, by
Seleucus, king of Asia, is surrounded with a vast wall, which
even contains a mountain within it. Next to Rome, and
Constantinople, and Alexandria, it obtains precedence over
the cities of the world. It is secure by its walls, lofty from
its situation; and if ever taken, must be gained more by ingenuity than force. The nearest river to it, which I learn
is now called Fervus, though originally Orontes, falls into
the sea twelve miles from the city; its tide impetuous, and
growing colder from its violence, ministers to the health of
the inhabitants by its effect on the atmosphere. Capable too
of receiving supplies by shipping for the service of its citizens, it can at all times mock the perseverance of its besiegers.
Here the venerable title of Christian was first conceived:
hence, first St. Paul, the spring and spur of this religion,
went forth to preach; here the first pontific seat was filled
by St. Peter; in honour to whom the church there founded
remained uninjured through the whole domination of the
Turks: and equally also did another, consecrated in honour
of St. Mary, strike the eyes of beholders with its beauty, exciting wonder that they should reverence the church of him
whose faith they persecuted.
This city, then, the Franks invested from October till
June;43 pitching their tents around the walls after they had
passed the river. Foreseeing, however, the difficulty of taking it, and judging it expedient to provide against the cowardice of certain of their party, the chiefs, in common, took
an oath, that they would not desist from the siege till the
city should be taken by force or by stratagem. And, that
they might more easily complete their design, they built many
fortresses on this side of the river, in which soldiers were
placed to keep guard. Aoxianus, too, the governor of the
city, observing that the Franks acted neither jestingly nor
coldly, but set heartily to besiege it, sent his son Sansadol to
the Sultan, emperor of Persia, to make known the boldness
of the Franks, and to implore assistance. Sultan among the
Persians implies the same as Augustus among the Romans:
Commander of all the Saracens, and of the whole east. I
imagine this empire has continued so long, and still increases,
because the people, as I have related, are unwarlike; and
being deficient in active blood, know not how to cast off
slavery, when once admitted; not being aware, as Lucan
says,44 that
"Arms were bestowed that men should not be slaves."
But the western nations, bold and fierce, disdain long-continued subjugation to any people whatever; often delivering
themselves from servitude, and imposing it on others. Moreover, the Roman empire first declined to the Franks, and
after to the Germans: the eastern continues ever with the
Persians.
Sansadol therefore being despatched to the chief of this
empire, hastened his course with youthful ardour, while his
father was by no means wanting to the duties of a commander, in the protection of the city. The valour of the
besieged was not content merely to defend their own party,
but voluntarily harassed ours; frequently and suddenly
attacking them when foraging or marketing: for, making a
bridge of the vessels they found there, they had established
a mart beyond the river. Through Christ's assistance, therefore, becoming resolute, they seized their arms, and boldly
repelled their enemies, so that they never suffered them to
reap the honour of the day. To revenge this disgrace, the
Turks wreaked their indignation on the Syrian and Armenian inhabitants of the city; throwing, by means of their
balistæ45 and petraries, the heads of those whom they had
slain into the camp of the Franks, that by such means they
might wound their feelings.
And now, everything which could be procured for food
being destroyed around the city, a sudden famine, which
usually makes even fortresses give way, began to oppress
the army; so much so, that the harvest not having yet attained to maturity, some persons seized the pods of beans
before they were ripe, as the greatest delicacy: others fed
on carrion, or hides soaked in water; others passed parboiled46
thistles through their bleeding jaws into their stomachs.
Others sold mice, or such like dainties, to those who required
them; content to suffer hunger themselves, so that they
could procure money. Some, too, there were, who even fed
their corpse-like bodies with other corpses, eating human
flesh; but at a distance, and on the mountains, lest others
should be offended at the smell of their cookery. Many
wandered through unknown paths, in expectation of meeting
with sustenance, and were killed by robbers acquainted with
the passes. But not long after the city was surrendered.
For Boamund, a man of superior talents, had, by dint of
very great promises, induced a Turkish chief,47 who had the
custody of the principal tower, on the side where his station
lay, to deliver it up to him. And he, too, to palliate the
infamy of his treachery by a competent excuse, gave his son
as an hostage to Boamund; professing that he did so by the
express command of Christ, which had been communicated
to him in a dream. Boamund, therefore, advanced his troops
to the tower, having first, by a secret contrivance, obtained
from the chiefs the perpetual government of the city, in case
he could carry it. Thus the Franks, in the dead of the
night, scaling the walls by rope ladders, and displaying on
the top of the tower the crimson standard of Boamund, repeated with joyful accents the Christian watchword, "It is
the will of God! It is the will of God!" The Turks
awaking, and heavy from want of rest, took to flight through
narrow passages; and our party, following with drawn
swords, made dreadful slaughter of the enemy. In this flight
fell Aoxianus, governor of the city, being beheaded by a certain Syrian peasant: his head, when brought to the Franks,
excited both their laughter and their joy.
Not long rejoicing in this complete victory, they had the
next day to lament being themselves besieged by the Turks
from without. For the forces which had been solicited by
Sansadol were now arrived under the command of Corbaguath, an eastern satrap, who had obtained from the emperor of Persia three hundred thousand men48 under twenty-seven commanders. Sixty thousand of these ascended over
the rocks to the citadel, by desire of the Turks, who still
remained in possession of it. These woefully harassed the
Christians by frequent sallies: nor was there any hope left,
but from the assistance of God, since want was now added
to the miseries of war -- want, the earliest attendant on great
calamities. Wherefore, after a fast of three days, and earnest supplications, Peter the hermit was sent ambassador to
the Turks, who spake with his usual eloquence to the following effect: "That the Turks should now voluntarily evacuate the Christian territory, which they had formerly unjustly
invaded; that it was but right, as the Christians did not
attack Persia, that the Turks should not molest Asia; that
they should therefore, either by a voluntary departure, seek
their own country, or expect an attack on the following
morning; that they might try their fortune, by two, or four,
or eight, that danger might not accrue to the whole army."
Corbaguath condescended not to honour the messenger
even with a reply; but playing at chess and gnashing his
teeth, dismissed him as he came; merely observing, "that
the pride of the Franks was at an end." Hastily returning,
Peter apprised the army of the insolence of the Turk. Each
then animating the other, it was publicly ordered, that every
person should, that night, feed his horse as plentifully as
possible, lest he should falter from the various evolutions of
the following day.
And now the morning dawned, when,
drawn up in bodies, they proceeded, with hostile standard,
against the enemy. The first band was led by the two
Roberts, of Normandy and Flanders, and Hugh the Great;
the second by Godfrey; the third by the bishop of Puy; the
reserve by Boamund, as a support to the rest. Raimund
continued in the city, to cover the retreat of our party, in
case it should be necessary. The Turks, from a distance,
observing their movements, were, at first, dubious what they
could mean. Afterwards, recognizing the standard of the
bishop, for they were extremely afraid of him, as they said
he was the pope of the Christians and the fomenter of the
war; and seeing our people advancing so courageously and
quickly, they fled ere they were attacked.
Our party, too,
exhilarated with unexpected joy, slew them as they were
flying, as far as the strength of the infantry, or exertion of
the cavalry, would permit. They imagined, moreover, that
they saw the ancient martyrs, who had formerly been
soldiers, and who had gained eternal remuneration by their
death, I allude to George and Demetrius, hastily approaching
with upraised banner from the mountainous districts, hurling
darts against the enemy, but assisting the Franks. Nor is it
to be denied, that the martyrs did assist the Christians, as
the angels formerly did the Maccabees, fighting for the self-same cause.
Returning, then, to the spoil, they found in
their camp sufficient to satisfy, or even totally to glut, the
covetousness of the greediest army. This battle took place
A. D. 1098, on the fourth before the kalends of July; for the
city had been taken the day before the nones of June. Soon
after, on the kalends of the ensuing August, the bishop of
Puy, the leader of the Christians, and chief author of this
laudable enterprise, joyfully yielded to the common lot of
mortals; and Hugh the Great, by permission of the chiefs,
as it is said, returned to France, alleging as a reason, the perpetual racking of his bowels.
But when, by a long repose of seven months at Antioch,
they had obliterated the memory of their past labours, they
began to think of proceeding on their route. And first of all
Raimund, ever unconscious of sloth, ever foremost in military energy; and next to him the two Roberts, and Godfrey,
proceeded upon the march. Boamund alone, for a time,
deferred his advance, lured by the prospect of a magnificent
city and the love of wealth. A plausible reason, however,
lay concealed beneath his covetousness, when he alleged, that
Antioch ought not to be exposed to the Turks without a
chief, as they would directly attack it. He therefore took
up his residence in the city; and this harsh governor drove
Raimund's followers, who occupied one of the streets, without the walls.
The others, however, passing through Tripoli,49 and Berith,
and Tyre, and Sidon, and Accaron, and Caiphas, and Cæsarea of Palestine, where they left the coast to the right
hand, came to Ramula; being kindly received by some of
the cities, and signaling their valour by the subjugation of
others. For their design was to delay no longer, as it was
now the month of April, and the produce of the earth had
become fully ripe.
Ramula is a very small city, without
walls: if we credit report, the place of the martyrdom of St.
George; whose church, originally founded there, the Turks
had somewhat defaced: but at that time, through fear of the
Franks, they had carried off their property and retreated to
the mountains.
The next morning, at early dawn, Tancred,
the nephew of Boamund, a man of undaunted courage, and
some others, taking arms, proceeded to Bethlehem, desirous
of exploring its vicinity. The Syrians of the place, who
came out to meet them, manifested their joy with weeping
earnestness, through apprehension for their safety, on account
of the smallness of their numbers; for few more than a hundred horsemen were of the party. But our people having
suppliantly adored the sacred edifice,50 immediately stretch
anxiously forward towards Jerusalem. The Turks, confident of their force, fiercely sallied out, and for some time
skirmished with our troops, for the whole army had now
come up; but they were soon repulsed by tbe exertions of
the Franks, and sought security from their encircling walls.
A section of this chapter, on Jerusalem and the Patriarchs, has been moved HERE.
In the fourth year, then, of the expedition to Jerusalem,
the third after the capture of Nice, and the second after
that of Antioch, the Franks laid siege to Jerusalem, -- a city
well able to repay the toils of war, to soothe its labours, and
to requite the fondest expectation. It was now the seventh
day of June, nor were the besiegers apprehensive of wanting food or drink for themselves, as the harvest was on the
ground, and the grapes were ripe upon the vines; the care
alone of their cattle distressed them, which, from the nature
of the place and of the season, had no running stream to
support them, for the heat of the sun had dried up the
secret springs of the brook Siloah, which, at uncertain
periods, used to shed abroad its refreshing waters. This
brook, when at any time swollen with rain, increases that of
Kedron; and then passes on, with bubbling current, into the
valley of Jehosaphat. But this is extremely rare; for there
is no certain period of its augmentation or decrease. In
consequence, the enemy, suddenly darting from their caverns,
frequently killed our people, when straggling abroad for the
purpose of watering the cattle. In the meantime the chiefs
were each observant at their respective posts, and Raymond
actively employed before the tower of David.57 This fortress,
defending the city on the west, and strengthened, nearly half
way up, by courses of squared stone soldered with lead,
repels every fear of invaders when guarded by a small party
within. As they saw, therefore, that the city was difficult
to carry on account of the steep precipices, the strength of
the walls, and the fierceness of the enemy, they ordered
engines to be constructed. But before this, indeed, on the
seventh day of the siege, they had tried their fortune by
erecting ladders, and hurling swift arrows against their opponents: but, as the ladders were few, and perilous to those
who mounted them, since they were exposed on all sides and
nowhere protected from wounds, they changed their design.
There was one engine which we call the Sow, the ancients.
Vinea; because the machine, which is constructed of
slight timbers, the roof covered with boards and wickerwork, and the sides defended with undressed hides, protects
those who are within it, who, after the manner of a sow,
proceed to undermine the foundations of the walls. There
was another, which, for want of timber, was but a moderate
sized tower, constructed after the manner of houses:58 they
call it Berefreid: this was intended to equal the walls in
height. The making of this machine delayed the siege, on
account of the unskilfulness of the workmen and the scarcity
of the wood. And now the fourteenth day of July arrived,
when some began to undermine the wall with the sows,
others to move forward the tower. To do this more conveniently, they took it towards the works in separate pieces,
and, putting it together again at such a distance as to be out
of bowshot, advanced it on wheels nearly close to the
wall. In the meantime, the slingers with stones, the archers
with arrows, and the cross-bow-men with bolts, each intent
on his own department, began to press forward and dislodge
their opponents from the ramparts; soldiers, too, unmatched
in courage, ascend the tower, waging nearly equal war
against the enemy with missile weapons and with stones.
Nor, indeed, were our foes at all remiss; but trusting their
whole security to their valour, they poured down grease and
burning oil upon the tower, and slung stones on the soldiers,
rejoicing in the completion of their desires by the destruction of multitudes. During the whole of that day the battle
was such that neither party seemed to think they had been
worsted; on the following, which was the fifteenth of July,
the business was decided. For the Franks, becoming more
experienced from the event of the attack of the preceding
day, threw faggots flaming with oil on a tower adjoining
the wall, and on the party who defended it, which, blazing
by the action of the wind, first seized the timber and then
the stones, and drove off the garrison. Moreover the beams
which the Turks had left hanging down from the walls in
order that, being forcibly drawn back, they might, by their
recoil, batter the tower in pieces in case it should advance
too near, were by the Franks dragged to them, by cutting
away the ropes; and being placed from the engine to the
wall, and covered with hurdles, they formed a bridge of communication from the ramparts to the tower. Thus what the
infidels had contrived for their defence became the means of
their destruction; for then the enemy, dismayed by the
smoking masses of flame and by the courage of our soldiers,
began to give way. These advancing on the wall, and
thence into the city, manifested the excess of their joy by
the strenuousness of their exertions. This success took
place on the side of Godfrey and of the two Roberts; Raymond knew nothing of the circumstance, till the cry of the
fugitives and the alarm of the people, throwing themselves
from the walls, who thus met death while flying from it,
acquainted him that the city was taken. On seeing this, he
rushed with drawn sword on the runaways, and hastened to
avenge the injuries of God, until he had satiated his own
animosity. Moreover, adverting to the advantages of quiet
for the moment, he sent unhurt to Ascalon five hundred
Ethiopians, who, retreating to the citadel of David, had
given up the keys of the gates under promise of personal safety. There was no place of refuge for the Turks,
so indiscriminately did the insatiable rage of the victors
sweep away both the suppliant and the resisting. Ten thousand were slain in the temple of Solomon; more were
thrown from the tops of the churches, and of the citadel.
After this, the dead bodies were heaped and dissolved into
the aery fluid by means of fire; lest putrifying in the open
air, they should pour contagion on the heavy atmosphere.
The city being thus expiated by the slaughter of the infidels,
they proceeded with hearts contrite and bodies prostrate to
the sepulchre of the Lord, which they had so long earnestly
sought after, and for which they had undergone so many
labours. By what ample incense of prayer, they propitiated
heaven, or by what repentant tears they once again brought
back the favour of God, none, I am confident, can describe;
no, not if the splendid eloquence of the ancients could revive
or Orpheus himself return; who, as it is said, bent e'en the
listening rocks to his harmonious strain. Be it imagined
then, rather than expressed.
So remarkable was the example of forbearance exhibited
by the chiefs, that, neither on that, nor on the following day,
did any of them, through lust of spoil, withdraw his mind
from following up the victory. Tancred alone, beset with
ill-timed covetousness, carried off some valuable effects from
the temple of Solomon; but, afterwards, reproved by his
own conscience, and the address of some other persons, he
restored, if not the same things, yet such as were of equal
value.59 At that time, if any man, however poor, seized a
house, or riches of any kind, he did not afterwards encounter
the brawlings of the powerful, but held, what he had once
possessed, as his hereditary right. Without delay, then,
Godfrey, that brilliant mirror of Christian nobility, in
which, as in a splendid ceiling,60 the lustre of every virtue
was reflected, was chosen king;61 all, in lively hope, agreeing, that they could in no wise better consult the advantage
of the church; deferring, in the meantime, the election of a
patriarch, who was to be appointed by the determination of
the Roman Pontiff.62
But the emperor of Babylon, not the city built by Nimrod
and enlarged by Semiramis and now said to be deserted, but
that which Cambyses, son of Cyrus, built in Egypt, on the
spot where Taphnis formerly stood: the emperor of Babylon,
I say, venting his long-conceived indignation against the
Franks, sent the commander of his forces, to drive them, as
he said, out of his kingdom. Hastening to fulfil the command,
when he heard that Jerusalem was taken, he redoubled his
diligence, though he had by no means been indolent before.
The design of the barbarian was to besiege the Christians in
Jerusalem, and after the victory, which he, falsely presaging,
already obtained in imagination, to destroy utterly the sepulchre of our Lord. The Christians, who desired nothing less
than again to endure the miseries of a siege, taking courage
through God's assistance, march out of the city towards
Ascalon, to oppose the enemy; and carry with them part of
the cross of Christ, which a certain Syrian, an inhabitant of
Jerusalem, had produced, as it had been preserved in his
house, in succession from father to son. This truly was a
fortunate and a loyal device, that the secret should be all
along kept from the Turks. Obtaining moreover a great
booty of sheep and cattle, near Ascalon, they issued a
general order, to leave the whole of it in the open plain,
lest it should be an impediment when engaging the next
morning, as they would have spoil more than enough if they
conquered, so that, free from incumbrance, they might
avenge the injuries of heaven. In the morning, therefore,
as the army was on its march, you might see, I believe by
divine instinct, the cattle with their heads erect, proceeding
by the side of the soldiers, and not to be driven away by any
force. The enemy perceiving this at a distance, and their
sight being dazzled by the rays of the sun, lost their
confidence, ere the battle could commence, as they thought
the multitude of their opponents was countless: yet were
they, themselves, by no means deficient in numbers, and by
long exercise, trained to battle. They endeavoured therefore
to hem in the Franks, who were proceeding at a slow rate,
by dividing their force into two bodies, and by curving their
wings. But the leaders, and more especially Robert the
Norman, who was in the advanced guard, eluding stratagem
by stratagem, or rather cunning by valour, led on their
archers and infantry, and broke through the centre of the
heathens. Moreover the Lorraine cavalry, which was
stationed with its commander in the rear, advancing by
the flanks, prevented their flight, and occupied the whole
plain. Thus the Turks, penetrated in the front, and hemmed
in on every side, were slain at the pleasure of the victors;
the remainder escaping through favour of approaching night.
Many golden utensils were found in their camp; many
jewels, which, though from their scarcity unknown in our
country, there shine in native splendour. Nor was there
ever a more joyful victory for the Christians, because they
obtained the most precious spoil without loss.
Returning therefore to Jerusalem, when, by a rest of
many days, they had recruited their strength, some of them,
sighing for their native country, prepared to return by sea.
Godfrey and Tancred only remained; princes, truly noble,
and, to whose glory, posterity, if it judge rightly, never can
set limits: men, who, from the intense cold of Europe,
plunged into the insupportable heat of the East: prodigal
of their own lives, so that they could succour suffering
Christianity. Who, besides the fears of barbarous incursions,
in constant apprehension from the unwholesomeness of an
unknown climate, despised the security of rest and of health
in their own country; and although very few in number,
kept in subjection so many hostile cities by their reputation
and prowess. They were memorable patterns, too, of trust
in God; not hesitating to remain in that climate, where they
might either suffer from pestilential air, or be slain by the
rage of the Saracens. Let the celebration of the poets then
give way; nor let ancient fiction extol her earliest heroes.
No age hath produced aught comparable to the fame of these
men. For, if the ancients had any merit, it vanished after
death with the smoke of their funeral pile; because it had
been spent, rather on the vapour of earthly reputation, than
in the acquisition of substantial good. But the utility of
these men's valour will be felt, and its dignity acknowledged,
as long as the world shall continue to revolve, or pure
Christianity to flourish. What shall I say of the good order
and forbearance of the whole army? There was no gluttony;
no lewdness, which was not directly corrected by the
authority of the commanders, or the preaching of the bishops.
There was no wish to plunder as they passed through the
territories of the Christians; no controversy among themselves, which was not easily settled by the examination of
mediators. Wherefore, since the commendation of an army
so well-ordered redounds to the glory of its conductors, I
will signalize, in my narrative, the exploits and the adventures of each respective chief; nor will I subtract any thing
from the truth, as I received it on the faith of my relators.
But let no one who has had a fuller knowledge of these
events, accuse me of want of diligence, since we, who are
secluded on this side of the British ocean, hear but the faint
echo of Asiatic transactions.
King Godfrey takes the lead in my commendation: he
was the son of Eustace count of Boulogne, of whom I have
spoken in the time of king Edward, but more ennobled maternally, as by that line he was descended from Charles the
Great. For, his mother, named Ida, daughter of the ancient
Godfrey duke of Lorraine, had a brother called Godfrey after
his father, surnamed Bocard.
This was at the time when
Robert Friso, of whom I have spoken above, on the death of
Florence, duke of Friesland, married his widow Gertude;
advancing Theodoric, his son-in-law, to the succession of the
duchy. Bocard could not endure this; but expelling Friso,
subjected the country to his own will. Friso, unable to revenge himself by war, did it by stratagem; killing Bocard
through the agency of his Flemings, who drove a weapon
into his posteriors, as he was sitting for a natural occasion.
In this manner the son-in-law succeeded to the duchy, by
the means of his father-in-law.
The wife of this Godfrey
was the marchioness Matilda, mentioned in the former book,
who on her husband's death spiritedly retained the duchy, in
opposition to the emperor; more especially in Italy, for of
Lorraine and the hither-countries he got possession.
Ida
then, as I began to relate, animated her son Godfrey with
great expectations of getting the earldom of Lorraine: for the
paternal inheritance had devolved on Eustace her eldest son;
the youngest, Baldwin, was yet a boy.
Godfrey arriving at
a sufficient age to bear arms, dedicated his services to the
emperor Henry, who is mentioned in the preceding book.
Acquiring his friendship, therefore, by unremitting exertions,
he received from the emperor's singular liberality the whole
of Lorraine as a recompence. Hence it arose, that when the
quarrel broke out between the pope and Henry, he went with
the latter to the siege of Rome; was the first to break
through that part of the wall which was assigned for his
attack, and facilitated the entrance of the besiegers. Being
in extreme perspiration, and panting with heat, he entered a
subterraneous vault which he found in his way, and when he
had there appeased the violence of his thirst by an excessive
draught of wine, he brought on a quartan fever. Others say
that he fell a victim to poisoned wine, as the Romans, and
men of that country, are used to infect whole casks. Others
report, that a portion of the walls fell to his lot, where the
Tiber flowing, exhales destructive vapours in the morning;
that by this fatal pest, all his soldiers, with the exception of
ten, lost their lives; and that himself, losing his nails and
his hair, never entirely recovered. But be it which it might
of these, it appears that he was never free from a slow fever,
until hearing the report of the expedition to Jerusalem, he
made a vow to go thither, if God would kindly restore his
health. The moment this vow was made, the strength of the
duke revived; so that, recovering apace, he shook disease
from his limbs, and rising with expanded breast, as it were,
from years of decrepitude, shone with renovated youth. In
consequence, grateful for the mercies of God showered down
upon him, he went to Jerusalem the very first, or among the
first; leading a numerous army to the war. And though he
commanded a hardy and experienced band, yet none was
esteemed readier to attack, or more efficient in the combat
than himself.
Indeed it is known, that, at the siege of Antioch, with a Lorrainian sword, he cut asunder a Turk, who
had demanded single combat, and that one half of the man
lay panting on the ground, while the horse, at full speed,
carried away the other: so firmly the miscreant sat.
Another also who attacked him he clave asunder from the
neck to the groin, by taking aim at his head with a sword;
nor did the dreadful stroke stop here, but cut entirely through
the saddle, and the back-bone of the horse. I have heard a
man of veracity relate, that he had seen what I here subjoin:
during the siege, a soldier of the duke's had gone out to
forage; and being attacked by a lion, avoided destruction for
some time, by the interposition of his shield. Godfrey,
grieved at this sight, transfixed the ferocious animal with a
hunting spear. Wounded, and becoming fiercer from the
pain, it turned against the prince with such violence as to
hurt his leg with the iron which projected from the wound;
and had he not hastened with his sword to rip it up, this
pattern of valour must have perished by the tusk of a wild
beast. Renowned from these successes, he was exalted to be
king of Jerusalem, more especially because he was conspicuous in rank and courage without being arrogant. His
dominion was small and confined, containing, besides the few
surrounding towns, scarcely any cities. For the king's bad
state of health, which attacked him immediately after the
Babylonish war, caused a cessation of warlike enterprise; so
that he made no acquisitions: yet, by able management, he
so well restrained the avidity of the barbarians for the whole
of that year, that nothing was lost. They report that the
king, from being unused to a state of indolence, fell again
into his original fever; but I conjecture, that God, in his
own good time, chose early to translate, to a better kingdom,
a soul rendered acceptable to him and tried by so many
labours, lest wickedness should change his heart, or deceit
beguile his understanding. Revolving time thus completing
a reign of one year, lie died placidly, and was buried on
Mount Golgotha;63 a king as unconquerable in death, as he
had formerly been in battle; often kindly repressing the tears
of the by-standers. Being asked who was to succeed him,
he mentioned no person by name, but said merely, "whoever
was most worthy." He never would wear the ensign of
royalty, saying, "it was too great arrogance for him to be
crowned for glory, in that city, in which God had been
crowned in mockery." He died on the fifteenth before the
kalends of August.
On Godfrey's decease, Tancred and the other chiefs declared that Baldwin, his brother, who was at that time settled
in Mesopotamia, should be king: for Eustace, the elder
brother, who came to Jerusalem with Godfrey, had long since
returned to his native land. The acts of Baldwin shall be
related briefly, but with unsullied truth; supported in their
credibility by the narrative of Fulcher64 of Chartres, who
was his chaplain, and wrote somewhat of him, in a style, not
altogether unpolished, but, as we say, without elegance or
correctness, and which may serve to admonish others to write
more carefully. Baldwin, undertaking the holy pilgrimage
with the rest, had for companions many knights of disposition similar to his own. Confiding in these associates, he
began to levy fresh troops for his purpose; to watch for
brilliant opportunities wherein to manifest his prowess: and,
finally, not content with that commendation which was common to all, leaving the rest and departing three days' journey
from Antioch, he got possession, by the consent of its inhabitants, of Tarsus, a noble city of Cilicia: Tarsus, formerly the nursing-mother of the apostle Paul, in honour of
whom the cathedral there is dedicated. The Tarsians voluntarily submitted to his protection, as they were Christians,
and hoped by his aid to be defended from the Turks. The
Cilicians, therefore, eagerly yielded to his power, more especially after the surrender of Turbexhel, a town by situation
impregnable, to whose sovereignty the inferior towns look
up. This being yielded, as I have said, the others followed
its decision. And not only Cilicia, but Armenia, and Mesopotamia, eagerly sought alliance with this chief: for these
provinces were almost free from the domination of the Turks,
though infested by their incursions.
Wherefore the prince
of the city of Edessa, who was alike pressed by the hatred
of the citizens and the sword of the enemy, sent letters to
Baldwin, descriptive of his difficulties, desiring him to come
with all speed, and receive a compensation for the labour of
his journey, by his adoption, as he had no issue of either sex.
This is a city of Mesopotamia in Syria, very noted for the
fruitfulness of its soil and for the resort of merchants, twenty
miles distant from the Euphrates, and a hundred from
Antioch. The Greeks call it Edessa; the Syrians Rothasia.
Baldwin, therefore, exacting an oath of fidelity from the
ambassadors, passed the Euphrates with only sixty-nine
horsemen; a wonderful instance, it may be said, either of
fortitude, or of rashness, in not hesitating to proceed among
the surrounding nations of barbarians, whom any other person, with so small a force, would have distrusted either for
their race or their unbelief. By the Armenians and Syrians,
indeed, coming out to meet him on the road with crosses and
torches, he was received with grateful joy, and kindly entertained. But the Turks, endeavouring to attack his rear, were
frustrated in all their attempts by the skill of Baldwin:
the Samosatians setting the first example of flight. Samosata is a city beyond the Euphrates, from which arose Paul
of Samosata,65 the confutation of whose heresy, whoever
is desirous may read in the History of Eusebius. And, if I
well remember, Josephus says, that Antony was laying siege
to this city, when Herod came to him. The Turks inhabiting that city then, who were the first instigators of outrage
against the Franks, were the first to give way. Thus,
Baldwin, coming safely to Edessa, found nothing to disappoint his expectations: for being received with surpassing
favour by the prince, and soon after, on his being killed by
his faithless citizens, obtaining the lawful sovereignty of the
city, for the whole time during which the Franks were
labouring at Antioch and at Jerusalem, he was not free from
hostilities; worsting his opponents in repeated attacks.
But in the month of November, being reminded by Boamund, prince of Antioch, that they should enter on their
progress to Jerusalem, he prepared for marching, and by
the single display of the white standard, which was his
ensign in battle, overthrowing the Turks who had broken
the peace on his expected departure, he left Antioch to the
right; and came to Laodicea. Here, by the liberality of
earl Raymond, who presided over the city, getting, at a
cheap rate, a sufficiency of supplies for his people, he
passed Gibellum, and followed the recent track of Boamund, who had encamped and awaited him.
Daibert, archbishop of Pisa, joined them for the march: he had landed
his confederate party at Laodicea, as did also two other
bishops. These forces when united were estimated at five
and twenty thousand; many of whom, when they entered
the territories of the Saracens, were, through the scarcity
of commodities, overtaken by famine, and many were dismounted, from their horses being starved. Their distress
was increased by an abundance of rain; for in that country
it pours down like a torrent in the winter months only. In
consequence, these poor wretches, having no change of garments, died from the severity of the cold; never getting
under cover during several successive days. For this calamity, indeed, there was no remedy, as there was a deficiency both of tents and of wood: but they in some
measure appeased their hunger, by constantly chewing the
sweet reeds, which they call cannamel;66 so denominated
from cane and honey. Thus, twice only, obtaining necessaries at an exorbitant price from the inhabitants of Tripoli
and Cæsarea, they came to Jerusalem on the day of the
winter solstice. They were met at the gates by king Godfrey with his brother Eustace, whom he had detained till
this time, who showed them every degree of respect and
generosity. Having performed in Bethlehem all the accustomed solemnities of our Lord's nativity, they appointed
Daibert patriarch: to which transaction I doubt not, that
the consent of pope Urban was obtained; for he was reverend from age, eloquent, and rich.
After the circumcision
of our Lord, therefore, assuming palms67 in Jericho, which
antiquity has made the ensign of pilgrims, each one hastily
endeavoured to reach his home. The cause of their speed
was the stench of the unburied dead bodies, the fumes of
which exhaled in such a manner as to infect the air itself.
In consequence, a contagious pestilence spreading in the
atmosphere, consigned to death many who had recently
arrived. The rest quickened their march, by the cities on
the coast, that is to say, Tiberias and Cæsarea Philippi; for
they were urged by scantiness of provision, and the fear of
the enemy. Their want, as I have said, was remedied by
the celerity of their march; and to the fury of three hundred soldiers who harassed them from the town of Baldac,
they opposed a military stratagem. For feigning a flight
for a short time, that by leaving the narrow passes themselves, they might induce the Turks to enter them, they
retreated purposely, and then returning, routed the straggling enemy at their pleasure. They had supposed our
people unprepared for fight, as their shields and bows were
injured by the excessive rains; not being aware, that among
men, victory consists not in reliance on excellence of arms,
or of armour, but in the more noble power of courage, and
of the well-nerved arm.
At that time, indeed, Baldwin returned safely to Edessa,
and Boamund to Antioch. But in the beginning of the
month of July, a vague report reached the ears of Baldwin,
that the brilliant jewel of our commanders was dimmed;
Boamund being taken, and cast into chains, by one Danisman, a heathen, and a potentate of that country. In consequence, collecting a body of the people of Edessa and
Antioch, he was in hopes of revenging this singular disgrace
of the Christians. Moreover the Turk, who had taken this
chieftain more by stratagem and chance than by courage or
military force, as he had come with a small party to get
possession of the city of Meletima, aware that the Franks
would use their utmost efforts against him for the disgrace
of the thing, betook himself to his own territories; marshalling his troops, not as though he intended to retreat, but
rather to exhibit a triumph. Baldwin then proceeding two
days' march beyond Meletima, and seeing the enemy decline
the hazard of a battle, thought fit to return; but first, with
the permission of Gabriel the governor, brought over the
city to his own disposal.
In the meantime, intelligence
reaching him of his brother's death, and of the general
consent of the inhabitants and chiefs to his election, he
entrusted Edessa to Baldwin, his nearest relation by blood,
and moreover a prudent and active man, and prepared for
receiving the crown of Jerusalem.
Wherefore collecting
two hundred horse, and seven hundred foot, he proceeded
on a march pregnant with death and danger; whence many,
who were falsely supposed faithful, contemplating the boldness of the attempt, clandestinely deserted.
He, with the
remainder, marched forward to Antioch, where from the
resources of his sagacious mind, he became the cause of
great future advantage to his distressed people, by advising
them to choose Tancred as their chief.
Thence, he came
to Tripoli, by the route of Gibesium and Laodicea. The
governor of this city, a Turk by nation, but, from natural
disposition, rich in bowels of mercy, afforded him the necessary provisions without the walls; at the same time,
kindly intimating, that he should act cautiously, as Ducach,
king of Damascus, had occupied a narrow pass through
which he had heard he was to march. But he, ashamed
of being moved by the threats of the Saracen, resolutely
proceeded on his destination. When he came to the place,
he perceived the truth of the governor's information: for
about five miles on this side the city of Berith, there is a
very narrow passage near the sea, so confined by steep precipices, and narrow defiles, that were a hundred men to get
possession of the entrance, they might prevent any number,
however great, from passing. Such as travel from Tripoli
to Jerusalem have no possible means of avoiding it. Baldwin, therefore, arriving on the spot, sent out scouts to examine the situation of the place, and the strength of the
enemy. The party returning, and hardly intelligible through
fear, pointed out the difficulty of the pass, and the confidence
of the enemy, who had occupied it. But Baldwin, who fell
little short of the best soldier that ever existed, feeling no
alarm, boldly drew up his army and led it against them.
Ducach then despatched some to make an onset, and lure
the party unguardedly forward; retaining his main body
in a more advantageous position. For this purpose, at first
they rushed on with great impetuosity, and then made
a feint to retreat, to entice our people into the defile.
This stratagem could not deceive Baldwin, who, skilled by
long-continued warfare, made a signal to his men to make
show of flight; and to induce a supposition that they were
alarmed, he commanded the bag and baggage which they
had cast down, to be again taken up, and the cattle to be
goaded forward, as well as the ranks to be opened, that the
enemy might attack them. The Turks at this began to
exult, and, raging so horribly that you might suppose the
Furies yelling, pursued our party. Some getting into vessels took possession of the shore, others riding forward began
to kill such pilgrims as were incautiously loitering near the
sea. The Franks continued their pretended flight till they
reached a plain which they had before observed. No confusion deprived these men of their judgment; even the very
emergency by which they had been overtaken nurtured and
increased their daring; and though a small body, they withstood innumerable multitudes both by sea and land. For the
moment it appeared they had sufficiently feigned alarm, they
closed their ranks, turned their standards, and hemmed in
the now-charging enemy on all sides. Thus the face of
affairs was changed, the victors were vanquished, and the
vanquished became victors. The Turks were hewn down
with dreadful carnage; the remainder anxiously fled to their
vessels, and when they had gotten more than a bow-shot out
to sea, they still urged them forward as fiercely with their
oars, as though they supposed they could be drawn back to
land by the arm of their adversaries. And that you may
not doubt of this miracle as fanciful, but as evident, feel it as
it were, only four Christian soldiers fell in procuring by their
blood this victory to the survivors. Wherefore I assert, that
the Christians would never be conquered by the pagans,
were they to implore the Divine assistance on their courage,
ere they entered the conflict; and, when in battle, conciliate
the friendly powers of heaven to their arms. But since, in
peace they glut themselves in every kind of vice, and in battle rely only upon their courage; therefore it justly happens,
that their valour is often unsuccessful. The earl then, rejoicing in his splendid victory, on returning to spoil the slain,
found several Turks alive, whom he dismissed without personal injury, but despoiled them of their wealth. To avoid
any hidden stratagem, he that night retreated with his party,
and rested under the shelter of some olive trees. Next day,
at dawn, he approached the defile, with the light troops, to
be an eye-witness of the nature of the place; and, finding
everything safe, and making a signal by smoke, as had been
agreed upon, he intimated to his associates the departure of
the enemy; for the Turks, who the day before were wantonly galloping around the hill, perceiving the carnage of their
companions, had all fled in the dead of the night.
Laying
aside every delay, they instantly followed their commander.
The governor of Berith sent them food on their march, astonished at the valour of so small a force. The Tyrians and
Sidonians, and Accaronites, who are also called Ptholoamites,
acted in the same manner, venerating with silent apprehension the bravery of the Franks. Nor were Tancred's party,
in Caiphas, less generous, although he was absent. The
ancient name of this town I am unable to discover; because
all the inland cities, which we read of in Josephus as formerly existing, are either not in being, or else, changed into
inconsiderable villages, have lost their names; whereas those
on the coast remain entire. In this manner, by Cæsarea of
Palestine, and Azotus, they came to Joppa. Here he was
first congratulated on his kingdom, the citizens with great
joy opening the gates to him.
Being afterwards accompanied by the inhabitants of Joppa
to Jerusalem, where he was favourably received, he indulged
in a repose of seven days' continuance. Then, that the
Turks might be convinced that the spirit of his reign would
proceed to their signal disadvantage, he led his troops towards Ascalon. When at a short distance from that city,
he proudly displayed his forces, and with very little exertion
compelled the attacking Ascalonites to retreat, by waiting a
favourable opportunity for accomplishing his designs. Finally, conceiving his glory satisfied for that time by their
repulse, he drew off to the mountains to pursue the enemy,
and also at their expense to procure necessaries for his troops,
who were famished with hunger from the barrenness of the
land: for a scanty harvest had that year denied sustenance;
deceiving the expectations of the province by a meagre produce. He ascended therefore the mountainous districts,
whither the Turkish inhabitants of the country had retreated on leaving their towns, concealing the Syrians with
them in sequestered caverns. The Franks, however, discovered a mode of counteracting the device of the fugitives,
by letting smoke into their hiding-places; by which the miscreants were dislodged, and came out one by one. The
Turks were killed to a man; the Syrians spared. The army
turning aside thence, and marching towards Arabia, passed
by the supulchres of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob; and of their three wives, Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah.
The place is in Hebron, thirteen miles distant from Jerusalem. For the body of Joseph lies at Neapolis, formerly
called Sichem, covered with white marble, and conspicuous
to every traveller; there, too, are seen the tombs of his brothers, but of inferior workmanship. The army then came
into the valley where God formerly overthrew Sodom and
Gomorrah, darting fire from heaven on the wicked. The
lake there extends for eighteen miles, incapable of supporting any living creature, and so horrible to the palate, as to
distort the mouths of such as drink it, and distend their jaws
with its bitter taste. A hill overhangs the valley, emitting,
in various places, a salt scum, and all over transparent, as it
were, with congealed glass. Here is gathered what some
call nitre; some call it crystal salt. Passing the lake, they
came to a very opulent town, abundant in those luscious
fruits which they call dates; in devouring which they were
hardly able to fill the cavities of the stomach, or constrain
the greediness of their palates, they were so extremely sweet.
Every thing else had been taken away, through the alarm of
the inhabitants, except a few Ethiopians, the dark wool of
whose hair resembled smut. Our people, thinking it beneath
their valour to kill persons of this description, treated them,
not with indignation, but with laughter. Adjacent to this
town is a valley, where to this day is seen the rock which
Moses struck, to give water to the murmuring tribes. The
stream yet runs so plentifully, and with such a current, as to
turn the machinery of mills. On the declivity of the hill
stands a church in honour of the legislator Aaron: where,
through the mediation and assistance of his brother, he used
to hold converse with God. Here learning from guides conversant in the roads, who from Saracens had been converted
to Christianity, that from hence to Babylon was all barren
country, and destitute of every accommodation, they returned
to Jerusalem, to consecrate to God the first fruits of his
reign, acquired in the subjugation of so many hostile countries.
The royal insignia being prepared, Baldwin was crowned
with great ceremony, in Bethlehem, on Christmas-day, by
Daibert the patriarch; all wishing him prosperity. For
both at that time, and afterwards, he deserved, by his own
exertions, and obtained, through the favour of others, every
degree of royal respect, though sovereign of a very small,
and I had almost said, a despicable kingdom. Wherefore
the Christians ought to regard the mercy of our Lord Christ,
and to walk in the contemplation of his power, through
whose assistance they were objects of apprehension, though
unable to do harm. For there were scarcely, in the whole
service, four hundred horsemen and so many foot, to garrison
Jerusalem, Ramula, Caiphas, and Joppa. For those who
came thither by sea, with minds ill at ease, amid so many
hostile ports, after having adored the saints, determined to
return home, as there was no possibility of proceeding by
land. Moreover, an additional difficulty was, that in the
month of March Tancred had departed to assume the government of Antioch, nor could he or the king aid each other
from the length of the journey: indeed, should necessity require it, he could not, without fear of irreparable loss, march
his troops from one town to another. I pronounce it therefore to be a manifest miracle, that safe alone, through God's
protection, he was an object of dread to such a multitude of
barbarians.
In this year, which was A.D. 1101, the sacred fire,68 which
used to signalize the Vigil of Easter, delayed its appearance
longer than usual. For on the Saturday, the lessons being
read, alternately in Greek and Latin, the "Kyrie eleeson"69
repeated thrice and the melody of the clarions resounding,
still when no fire appeared, and the setting sun induced the
evening and led on the night, then all departed sorrowful to
their homes. It had been determined, after mature deliberation, that on that night no person should remain in the
church of the Holy Sepulchre, for fear any one of infected
conscience should irritate God still more through his irreverent intrusion. But when the twilight was proceeding into
day, a procession of the Latins was ordered to go to the
Temple of Solomon, that by prayer they might call down
the mercy of God: the same was performed around the
Sepulchre of our Lord, by the Syrians plucking their beards
and hair through violence of grief. The mercy of God
could endure no longer, light being instantly sent into one
lamp of the Sepulchre. Which, when a Syrian perceived
glittering through a window, he expressed his joy by the
clapping of his hands, and accelerated the advance of the
patriarch. He, opening the recess of the sepulchral chamber by the keys which he carried, and lighting a taper,
brought forth the celestial gift,70 imparting it to all who
crowded round him for that purpose; afterwards the whole
of the lamps, throughout the church, were divinely lighted
up, the one which was next to be illumined evincing its
approaching ignition by emitting smoke in a miraculous
manner. Thus, doubtless, the constant manner of Christ
has been to terrify those he loved that he might again kindly
soothe them, and that the dread of his power might redound
to his praise. For since even the common gifts of God are
lightly esteemed by men merely from their constant recurrence, he often enhances the grant of his indulgences by
withholding them, that what was most ardently desired
might be more gratefully regarded.
At that time a fleet of Genoese and Pisans had touched at
Laodicea, and thence made a prosperous voyage to Joppa,
and the crews, drawing their vessels on shore, spent Easter
with the king at Jerusalem. He, bargaining for their services, engaged to give them the third of the spoil of each
city they should take, and any particular street they might
choose. Thus he impelled them, inconsiderate and blinded,
more through lust of gold than love of God, to barter their
blood, and lay siege immediately to Azotus, which they constrained to surrender after three days. Nor did the townspeople yield very reluctantly, as they feared the anger of the
king should they be taken by storm: for, the preceding year,
assisted by the machination of fortune, they had vigorously
repulsed Godfrey when making a similar attempt. For,
indeed, when by means of scaling ladders he had advanced
his forces on the walls, and they, now nearly victorious, had
gotten possession of the parapet, the sudden fall of a wooden
tower, which stood close to the outside of the wall, deprived
them of the victory and killed many, while still more were
taken and butchered by the cruelty of the Saracens. Leaving Azotus, Baldwin laid siege to Cæsarea of Palestine, with
his whole force, and with determined courage; but perceiving the resolution of its citizens and the difficulty of the
enterprise, he ordered engines to be constructed. Petraries71
were therefore made, and a great tower built of twenty cubits
in height, surpassing the altitude of the wall. Our people,
however, impatient of delay and of such lingering expectation, erecting their ladders and attempting to overtop the
wall, arrived at the summit by the energy of their efforts,
with conscious valour indignantly raging, that they had now
been occupied in conflict with the Saracens during fifteen
days, and had lost the whole of that time; and although the
Cæsareans resisted with extreme courage, and rolled down
large stones on them as they ascended, yet despising all danger, they broke through their opponents in a close body, and
fought with an outstretched arm, and a drawn sword. The
Turks, unable longer to sustain the attack and taking to
flight, either cast themselves down headlong, or fell by the
hand of their enemies. Many were reserved for slavery; a
few for ransom. Among these was the governor of the city,
and a bishop named Arcadius. The scene was enough to
excite laughter in a by-stander, to see a Turk disgorging
bezants,72 when struck on the neck by the fist of a Christian.
The wretched males, through fear of extreme indigence, had
hid money in their mouths; the females in parts not to be
particularized: you perceive that my narrative blushes to
speak plainly, but the reader understands what I wish, or
rather what I wish not to speak.
Still, however, the emperor of Babylon could not be at
rest, but would frequently send commanders and armies to
attack the Franks. Arriving at Ascalon on ship-board, they
scoured about Ramula, taking advantage of the king's occupation, who was then busied in the contest with Cæsarea.
They frequently, therefore, by depopulating the country,
irritated him to engage. But he, with equal subtlety, that
their mad impetuosity might subside, suffered them, when
eagerly advancing, to grow languid by declining battle. By
this procrastination he effected that many, weary of delay,
withdrew, while he attacked the remainder, consisting of
eleven thousand horse and twenty-one thousand infantry,
with his own two hundred and fifty cavalry and less than
seven hundred foot. Addressing a few words to his soldiers,
to whom he pledged victory if they persevered, and fame if
they fell; and calling to their recollection that if they fled
France was a great way off, he dashed first against the
enemy; and the contest continuing for some time, when he
saw his ranks giving way, he remedied circumstances which
seemed almost bordering on desperation. Thus dismaying
the Turks by his well-known appearance, he laid their leader
prostrate with his lance; on whose death the whole battalions
fled. Our soldiers, who in the onset were so hemmed in as
to be unable to see each other, then exercised their valour in
such wise, under the ensign of the Holy Cross which preceded them, that they killed five thousand. Eighty of the
cavalry and rather more of the infantry were slain on the
side of the Franks. However subsequent successes consoled
them, as they despatched five hundred Arabian horse. These
had been traversing before Joppa for two days, but effecting
little, they were returning to Ascalon, and seeing our troops
at a distance, and, hoping they were their own, were approaching to congratulate them on their victory. But at
length perceiving, hy the weapons hurled against them, that
they were Franks, they turned pale and, to use the words of
the poet,73 became like him who,
"With unshod foot, had trod upon a snake."
In consequence, enervated with astonishment, they exposed
their backs to their destroyers.
Thus the king coming to
Joppa, corrected, by a true account, the falsity of the letter
which had been sent to Tancred by the people of that city,
erroneously declaring that the king had perished with his
army. And, indeed, already had Tancred prepared for his
march to Jerusalem, when a messenger arriving, and showing the royal signet, dispelled his sorrow, and restored his
satisfaction.
It would be tedious, if I were to relate all his contests;
to tell how he subdued Tiberias, Sidon, Accaron, that is,
Ptolemais, and, ultimately, all the cities on the coast; or,
how he distinguished almost each day by the slaughter of
the Turks, either through secret attack or open warfare.
The relation of his exploits requires the exclusive labours
of a man who abounds in pompous diction, and undisturbed
leisure: I have neither; and, what chiefly acts as an obstacle,
want clear information on the subject. For it is by no means
the part of an historian of veracity to give entire credit to
flattering reports, or to deceive the credulity of his readers.
Consequently, I shall only subjoin what I have found
recorded, whereby this man's exalted devotion may be
clearly proved, and his good report live for ever. This I
may be bold to assert, that he often, with an inconsiderable
force, engaged in mighty conflicts, and that he never fled the
field, except at Ramula and at Accaron. And indeed signal
victories ensued to each of these flights, because they proceeded more from rash valour, than from fear; as the reader
will discover from the insertion of a few facts.
In the month of September, on the seventh before the ides
of which the battle aforesaid took place, William, earl of
Poitou, proceeded towards Jerusalem, leading with him
troops estimated at sixty thousand horse and still more foot.
There accompanied him, Stephen, earl of Burgundy, and
Hugh de Lusignan, brother of earl Raymond, Hugh the
Great, and Stephen of Blois, anxious to atone for the
disgrace of their former desertion, by renovated and
determined valour. Proceeding, therefore, by Constantinople, after he had by an insolent answer, as I before
related, offended Alexius, he fell into the snares of
Solyman; the emperor rather procuring than preventing
his disaster. For Solyman, aware that the army was
suffering from hunger and thirst, as they had been
wandering about the marshes and desolate places for
several days, encountered them with three hundred thousand
archers. Never was there conflict more disastrous to the
Franks; as it was impossible for flight to save the coward,
or courage to rescue the bold from danger: for the battle
was fought in a confined situation, and nothing could prevent
the effect of clouds of arrows on men who were crowded
together. More than a hundred thousand were slain; and
all the booty carried off. Thus Solyman, obtaining splendid
offerings to the manes of his countrymen from the spoils of
the Franks, revenged the loss of Nice. But, as they had
proceeded by many roads, all were not slain; nor was every
thing plundered. For, except the Poitevin, who lost nearly
whatever he possessed, the other earls had boldly defended
their baggage. All, therefore, except Hugh the Great, who
died, and was entombed in the city of Tarsus, collecting again
their soldiers after the flight, hastened to Antioch.
Tancred,
a knight of celebrated kindness, gave them ample proof of
his generosity; assisting them all, as far as he was able, with
money: but more especially William, whom the inconstancy
of Fortune had now as deeply depressed as she had formerly
highly exalted, who, in addition to the loss of treasure, by
which he was not so much affected as it was transitory and
capable of reparation, was left almost the sole survivor of so
many valorous soldiers.
Proceeding on their march with
renovated courage, they sought every opportunity of giving
battle. The city of Tortosa was the first to feel their rage;
by attacking and plundering which, they in some degree
compensated their former losses. Thence they came to the
defile, which I have mentioned above, where the king had
long awaited them, in order to give assistance in case the
Turks should oppose their passage. Defended by his valour,
and meeting with kind entertainment at Joppa, they proceeded the following Easter to Jerusalem, where they
joyfully beheld, and reverently adored the sacred fire.
Returning afterwards to Joppa, they took ship, each
designing to revisit his native land. The Poitevin, from
the continued favour of the wind, reached home; the rest
were violently driven back.
But now, in the beginning of May, the Turks and Arabs
laid siege to Ramula; recruiting the losses of their army in
the former year, by making up its original numbers. The
bishop of the city, prudently watching an opportunity,
retired from the place and went secretly to Joppa. Baldwin
had already gone out, relying on a false assertion that the
enemy did not exceed five hundred; in consequence of
which, he neither put his forces in order, nor called out his
infantry, the trumpeters merely sounding for the cavalry to
follow the king; though his friends earnestly advised him, to
be on his guard against the subtlety of the Turks. The two
Stephens, of Blois and of Burgundy, followed the king on
horseback, that, instead of being branded as indolent and
cowardly, they might return to their respective homes
partakers of the credit of the triumph: far different,
however, from their expectations, were the glory and the
victory which the fates were preparing for them. For
Baldwin, perceiving the multitude of the enemy and
finding himself deceived in his opinion, filled with rage,
and fierce in conscious valour, hesitated what was to be
done. If he gave way, he contemplated the tarnish of his
ancient glory; if he fought, the destruction of his followers.
Nevertheless, innate courage prevailed, and fear had already
yielded, when, swayed by the advice of his comrades, he
acquiesced in a plan of retiring, through the midst of the
enemy, into a castle. The rest, following with loud clamour,
broke through the thickest ranks, consecrating their souls to
God, and nobly avenging their deaths. The earls, too, so
wearied with striking that their hands grew stiff upon their
swords, yielded to fate. The king escaping to the fortress,
had some few companions remaining out of the two hundred
he had led forth; who entreating that he would deign to
protract his life by flight, and observing that their danger
was of little consequence to the world, while his life was of
advantage to many, in as much as he would be an example
of valour to every age, by his singular constancy of mind
though in adverse circumstances, he esteemed himself worthy
to live. Wherefore, accompanied by five knights, he eluded
his assailants, and escaped to the mountains. One of the
five was Robert the Englishman, as I said before; the
others, from the great distance, report has not brought to
our knowledge: he, with three more, was taken; the fifth
escaped with the king. The Turks vented the whole of
their fury on those who had retired to the castle, among
whom was Hugh de Lusignan and Geoffrey de Vincennes:
only three survivors told their mournful tale to the people of
Jerusalem.
The king, concealing himself during the day,
and, at night, urging his jaded courser through untrodden
paths, arrived at Azotus, by the singular and miraculous
protection of God; as the Turks had but just departed,
after having been plundering around the city for the space
of two days. Coming thence by sea to Joppa, he despatched
an account of the certainty of his being still living to the
people of Jerusalem. The bearer of the epistle was a low
Syrian fellow, who, even had he been discovered, would
have deceived the enemy, from the meanness of his garb,
and his using the common language of the country.
Escaping the hands of the infidels by lone paths with
which he was acquainted, he arrived the third day at
Jerusalem. Upon this the cavalry who garrisoned the
city, taking with them the bands of auxiliary infantry,
and purposing to proceed to Joppa, took a route close to
the sea; avoiding the inland districts. The rear, however,
of the party, were cut off, by the Turks pressing on them;
as they were left unprotected either by horse or foot. Thus
collecting ninety horse from Jerusalem, and eighty from
Tiberias, which Hugh, that most intrepid commander, had
brought to their assistance, the attendants also, through
necessity, were advanced to the rank of knights. The
battle was delayed only till the next day, the Turks being
now so ferocious as to prepare their engines, and to meditate
an attack on the walls of Joppa. This was prevented by
the activity of Baldwin, and by the cross of Christ preceding
them, which had been wanting in the former battle. They
then, with all the force of the kingdom, rushed eagerly on
the enemy, and the contest was fierce: but they, after their
usual custom, surrounding our troops, thought they had
completely overcome the Christians, and shouted with
cheerful cry: but the Lord Jesus was present; who, at
length looked down from heaven, and showering courage
on the Franks, put the enemy, driven from the field, to
flight. It had happened in the preceding action, that,
though frequently driven from their tents, they afterwards
conquered through their numbers; but now, as the infantry
wounded them from a distance with their arrows, and the
cavalry close at hand with their lances, they placed all their
hopes in swiftness, and continued their flight.
He fought another battle in later years, in which our
soldiers, pressed by the numbers of the Turks and compelled
to fly, lost even their protecting standard. But after they
had fled some distance they rallied; shame animating the
timid to repel such ignominy. Then indeed the contest was
strenuous; fighting foot to foot, and breast to breast. Our
party recovered the cross, routing the enemy, and regaining
the field. Many fell here with whom I had been acquainted;
among these was Godfrey, Baldwin's bastard-grand-nephew,
who, from a boy, manifested valour in his countenance and
truth in his soul. In the beginning, indeed, both retreats, as
it may be said, were the source of ignominy; but, in the
end, true food for glory; the one more celebrated, the other
more advantageous.
Finally, to repair his losses, and also
to be united with him in marriage, the countess of Sicily
came shortly after to Jerusalem, pouring such treasures into
the royal palace, that it was matter of surprise, whence a
woman could accumulate such endless heaps of precious
utensils:74 and at this time, indeed, he received her to his bed,
but shortly after he put her away. It is said that she was
afflicted with a cancerous complaint, which preyed upon her
womb,75 This, however, is well known, that the king had
no issue; nor is it wonderful, that a man, to whom leisure
was burdensome, should be averse to the embraces of a wife,
as he passed all his time in war.
By these exertions he
effected, that his admirable and nearly godlike valour should
operate as an incitement to the present race, and be matter
of astonishment to posterity. He died, during an expedition
into Arabia, in the month of April, and was publicly buried
at Jerusalem, near his brother, as the fourth month was
adding to the seventeenth year of his reign. He was a man
who gained his reputation by repeated labours, and on whose
fame envy hath cast no shade, except it be, that he was too
sparing of his money; though there is a ready and well-founded excuse for such a fault, if it be considered, that the
necessary largesses to such as remained with him, prevented
him from purchasing the favour of those who departed.
He was succeeded by his kinsman, Baldwin, prince of
Edessa, already celebrated for his former campaigns, whom
he had, when dying, named as king. He bravely defended
the kingdom for many years, and augmented it with the sovereignty of Antioch, which he obtained when Roger,76 the son
of Richard, was killed. He governed both countries with
laudable conduct; with less presumptuous haughtiness, perhaps, but with great and consummate prudence, though
there are some who wound his fair fame, accusing him of
excessive parsimony. Wherefore, last year, when the Turks
had taken him, while riding a short distance from Jerusalem,
his people grieved but little for him, and for nearly a year
it remained unknown, both to subjects and even to tale-
bearers, whither he was taken, or whether or not he breathed
the vital air. However, the people of Jerusalem, nothing
discouraged on account of his absence, refused either to elect
a king or to discontinue the order or command of the
soldiers, till the certainty of the matter could be known.
At
last, the place where he lay captive being discovered, some
knights of surpassing boldness, assuming the guise of merchants, and hiding weapons beneath their garments, entered
the town, and rescued the king from jeopardy; protesting,
that they did not act thus through respect for his niggardliness, but out of gratitude to Gozelin of Turbexhel,77 who
never hesitated to bestow all he possibly could upon the
military. He has now lived long, a provident man, and subject to no other imputation.78
The principality of Antioch
pertains to the son of Boamund, of whom I proceed to speak.
Boamund79 was the son of Robert Guiscard by a Norman
woman; he had another son named Roger, born of an Apulian, who was, by his father, surnamed "Purse," because his
paternal and attentive observation had discovered, that, from
a mere child, he had pleasure in counting money. As to
Boamund, who was somewhat older, he never could retain
anything, but even gave away his childish presents. Roger,
therefore, received Apulia, which seemed to belong to him
in right of his mother: Boamund went with his father to
the Durazzian war.
And when the towns-people, through
confidence of their walls, boasted, that the city was called
Durachium,80 because it could endure all sieges undismayed;
and "I," said Guiscard, "am called Durandus; and I will
endure in besieging, until I take away the name from the
city; so that, henceforth it shall no longer be called Durachium, but Mollucium." The firmness of this answer so
terrified them, that they immediately opened their gates.
Thus, secure in his rear, he subdued, with the less difficulty, the other cities as far as Thessalonica. He had now
arrived there, and had already, both by himself and by his
son, taught Alexius that he might be overcome, when, beguiled by the treachery of his wife, he failed, by death, of
a noble enterprise.
Boamund, then, returning to Apulia,
possessed some castles through his brother's indulgence, and
acquired many others by his own courage and prudence.
Indeed the dukedom had fallen to his brother only in appearance; all the most warlike spirits following him.
Nor
was this of light importance: for, observant of his father's
purpose, he was averse to Guibert, and strongly espoused
the cause of Urban; urging him, when hesitating, to proceed into France to the council of Clermont, whither the
letters of Raymond earl of Provence, and of the bishop of
Chorges, invited him. The council being ended, he readily
embraced the opportunity, and transported his forces into
Greece; and thence moving forward his army, he quietly
awaited Raymond and Godfrey. Joining them on their
arrival, he possessed great influence from his military skill
and from his courage, which was never surpassed.
But, as
what he performed in company with others, only entitles
him to a share in the general praise; and my former narrative has related how he had been taken prisoner; it may be
proper to mention in what manner he rescued himself from
captivity. When Danisman perceived that no advantage
resulted to him, from detaining so great a man in confinement, he changed his intentions, and began sedulously to treat
of terms of peace; for he was neither inclined to put him
to death, lest he should excite the fierce hatred of the
Christians against himself; nor would he set him at liberty,81
without the hope of a lasting peace.
Boamund, therefore,
promising the infidel perpetual amity, returned to Antioch,
bringing with him the silver fetters with which he had been
confined; and being favourably received by his people, he
took possession of Laodicea, and the other cities which Tancred, lest he should have been thought slumbering in indolence, whilst his uncle was sighing in prison, had acquired
during his captivity.
Not long after he came into France,
offering up, in honour of St. Leonard, the chains with which
he had been burdened; for this saint82 is said to be so especially powerful in loosing fetters, that the captive may freely
carry away his chains, even in the sight of his enemies, who
dare not mutter a syllable.
He then married one of the
daughters of the king of France, and sending another to
Tancred, went to Apulia, followed by the French nobility,
who deserted their country in hope of greater advantages,
as well as to be eye-witnesses of what could be effected by
that energetic valour, which was so universally extolled by
fame.
Wherefore arranging his affairs in Apulia, he again
burst forth against Alexius; alleging as a cause of attacking
him, his cruelty to the crusaders, for which he was very
noted. But being deceived by the subtlety of the emperor,
who alienated his commanders from him by bribery, or took
them off by poison, he had little or no success.
Dejected at
this, he returned to Apulia, where, in a few days, while purposing to proceed to Antioch, he died, not an old man, yet
equal to any in prudence, leaving a son of tender age. He
was a man firm in adversity, and circumspect in prosperity;
for he had even provided himself an antidote, when apprehensive of poison. It was a knife, which, placed before him
when eating, strange to tell, indicated, by the moistness of
its handle, whenever poison was brought into the apartment.
After him Tancred presided over Antioch; a nephew worthy
of such an uncle.
Tancred was removed from this world by
an early death, and Roger the son of Richard succeeded.
Though rivalling the fame of his predecessors in battle, yet
he incurred the disgrace of being avaricious. In consequence of this, when the soldiery avoided him, he engaged
the Turks with a trifling stipendiary, and a small native
force, and fell nobly revenging his death: for being taken
by them, stripped of his armour, and commanded to yield
up his sword; he refused to deliver it to any but the commander, as he considered all present unworthy to receive the
surrender of so dignified a character. The unhappy chief
gave credit to his specious words, and taking off his helmet,
stretched out his hand to receive Roger's sword. When,
indignant, and mustering all his remaining powers for the
effort, he cut off the Turk's head, and being immediately
stabbed, escaped the disgrace of slavery by the act his
courage had suggested.
Baldwin the second, king of Jerusalem, revenging his death in a signal manner, faithfully
reserved the dominion of the city, and his daughter, for
Boamund the son of Boamund.
Raymond was the son of the most noble William,83 earl of
Toulouse, who, being a man of enterprise and ability, rendered his country, which had been obscured through the indolence of his predecessors, illustrious by his own good
qualities. His wife Almodis was repeatedly married to different persons, and had a numerous issue by them all; a
woman of such sad, unbridled lewdness, that, when one husband became disgusting to her from long intercourse, she
would depart and take up her abode with another: to sum
up all, she had been first united to the earl of Aries; presently, becoming weary of him, she connected herself with
William; and then after bearing him two sons, she lured
the earl of Barcelona to marry her.
Moreover, William,
when at the point of death, gave to his son of his own name
but not of his own disposition, the county of Toulouse, because, though he was of slender talents, the people of Toulouse would attempt no innovation against him, as they were
accustomed to the government of his family.
But Raymond,
who was of brighter abilities, received Chorges, and increased
it wonderfully by the addition of Aries, Narbonne, Provence,
and Limoges. Again, he purchased Toulouse of his brother
who went to Jerusalem many years previous to the grand
crusade; but these things were achieved by a considerable
lapse of time, and a life expended on the labour.
Thus,
ever engaged in war, he had no desire for a legitimate wife,
enjoying himself in unrestrained concubinage. Finally, he
condescended to honour with his adoption and inheritance,
Bertrand, his son by one of his mistresses, as he, in some
respects, resembled his father. To this son he married the
niece84 of Matilda the marchioness, a native of Lombardy,
that by such affinity he might secure his possessions on that
side.
In the latter part of his life, too, he himself espoused
the daughter of the king of Tarragona, covenanting for a
noble dowry; namely, the perpetual peace of the adjacent
provinces. Soon after this, on contemplating his grey hairs,
he made a vow to go to Jerusalem, that his bodily powers,
though decayed and feeble, might still, though late, enter
into the service of God. The chief promoter of this was
the bishop of Chorges, by whose especial exertions he had
always been thwarted, and in one contest, had even lost an
eye, which mark of deformity, so far from concealing, he
was ever anxious to show, boasting of it as a proof of his
gallantry. But now, leagued in mutual friendship, that they
might employ their old age in religious services, they stimulated Urban, already inclined to preach the crusade, to pass
the Alps and summon a council at Clermont, more especially
as it was a city adjacent to their territories, and convenient
for persons coming from every part of France. The bishop,
however, died on his way to the council. To his influence
succeeded the bishop of Puy, of whom we have before spoken: animated by whose advice, and protected by whose
assistance,
Raymond was the first layman who assumed the
cross; making this addition to his vow, "that he would never
return to his country, but endeavour to lessen the weight of
his past offences by perpetual exertion against the Turks."
He had already given many proofs of his prowess on the
way, -- the first to labour and the last to rest; many also of
forbearance, as he readily relinquished those places he had
first occupied at Antioch to Boamund, and the tower of David to Godfrey. But at length, his patience being worn out
by the unreasonable demands of certain persons, he departed
from his usual practice on the subject of the surrender of
Ascalon. For, on the first arrival of the Franks, the townspeople, examining the disposition of our several commanders,
made choice of him for their patron; because many men,
who had come thither before by sea, from Montpelier to trade,
had extolled his sincerity and courage to the skies. In consequence, they delivered to him their keys, and compelled
him to make oath that he would never give up the command
of the city to any other of the Christians, should he himself
be either unwilling; or unable to retain it. A murmuring
then arose among the chiefs, who required the surrender of
the city to the king; saying that his kingdom was of little
value, unless he could hold Ascalon, which would be a receptacle for the enemy and an obstacle to our party. The
king, indeed, set forth the matter mildly, as he did everything
else, with a placid countenance consistent with his manners;
the others rather more violently. However, he paid little
attention to their words, obviating their allegations by very
substantial reasons; saying that all his associates had secured
a place of retreat; part of them had returned home; part
were occupying the provinces they had acquired; that he
alone, having abjured his native country, could neither return thither, nor did he possess a place of refuge here; that
he had yielded in other points, but they must allow him to
retain Ascalon, under fealty to the Holy Sepulchre, as he
had taken an oath not to give it up. On hearing this, all
began to clamour, and to call him interested and faithless;
indeed they could scarcely abstain from laying hands on him.
The earl, indignant at this reproach, failed in the duty of a
just and upright man, delivering the keys to the enemies of
God, and compensating the fear of perjury by the blood of
many a man in after time; for to this day that city has
never been taken either by force or by stratagem.
Moreover, many of his people, delighted with the unbounded
affluence of the place, obtained the friendship of its citizens by
denying their faith. Thus leaving Jerusalem, he came to
Laodicea, and having subdued it, continued there some little
time. Afterwards, when he had gone to Constantinople,
Tancred obtained Laodicea, though it is dubious whether by
force or favour.
In the meantime, remaining at Byzantium,
he contrived by his consummate prudence to insinuate himself into the favour of Alexius. Whence it happened, that,
through the kindness of the emperor, getting a safe passage,
he escaped sharing those calamities which, as we have before
related, befell William of Poitou and the others; with
whom he took the city of Tortosa, and, when the rest proceeded onwards, retained possession of it.
To extend his
power, he fortified a town over against Tripoli, called Pilgrim's Castle, where he appointed abbat Herbert, bishop.
And that the shattered strength of his followers might recruit by repose, he made a seven years' league with the
Tripolitans. Nevertheless, ere the time appointed, the peace
was broken, on account of a certain townsman being found
within the castle, with a poisoned dagger concealed beneath
his garments. And now truly would he have put the finishing hand to the conquest of Tripoli, had not death, approaching almost immediately, bereft his vital spirit, big with great
achievements.
On learning his decease, William of Montpelier, and the other chiefs of the province, provided that
William the Pilgrim, scarcely four years of age, whom he
had begotten on a Spanish woman during the siege, should
be conveyed home, to be educated for the succession, with
the anxious wishes of all. Nor did Bertrand hear of this
transaction with displeasure, although he had never been
consulted, as it enabled him to renew his father's fame.
Wherefore, heading a vast army, and chiefly supported by
the Genoese and Pisans, who were allied to his wife, he
attacked Tripoli by sea and land, and when exhausted by a
protracted siege, reduced it to his dominion.
To him succeeded Pontius, his son by the Lombard; a youth who
rivalled the glory of his ancestors, and who obtained in
marriage the relict of Tancred, formerly prince of Antioch.
This, when dying, he had commanded; affirming, that, the
youth would grow up a benefit to the Christians, and an
utter destruction to the Turks. Pontius therefore reigns at
Tripoli, professing himself the servant of the Holy Sepulchre;
in this respect following the example of his grandfather and
father.
Robert, son of William the first king of England, was
born in Normandy, and already considered as a youth of excellent courage, when his father came to England: of tried
prowess, though of small stature and projecting belly. He
passed his early years amid the warlike troops of his father,
obedient to him in every respect: but in the vigorous heat
of youth, led by the suggestions of his idle companions, he
supposed he could obtain Normandy from the king, during
his lifetime. But when William refused this, and drove
away the youth by the blustering of his terrific voice, Robert
departed indignantly, and harassed his country by perpetual
attacks. His father laughed at first, and then added, "By
the resurrection of God, this little Robin Short-boot will be
a clever fellow;" for such was his appellation, from his
small stature; though there was nothing else to find fault
with; as he was neither ill-made, nor deficient in eloquence,
nor was he wanting in courage or resources of mind. At
length, however, the king was so transported with anger,
that he denied him his last blessing and the inheritance of
England; and it was with difficulty, and disgrace, that he
could retain even Normandy.
After nine years he gave
proof of his manhood in the labours of the crusade, and in
many instances appeared wonderful, as neither Christian nor
pagan could ever unhorse him: but more especially in the
battle of Antioch, where he graced the victory by a singular
achievement. For when the Turks, as we have related,
were suddenly dismayed and fled, and our party vehemently
attacked them in disorder, Corbanach, their leader, mindful
of his native valour, checked his horse, and rallied his people;
calling them base slaves, and forgetful of their ancient conquests, in suffering themselves, the former conquerors of the
east, to be driven from their territories by a strange, and
almost unarmed people. At this reproach, many, resuming
their courage, wheeled round, attacked the Franks, and compelled the nearest to give way, while Corbanach continued
to animate his men, and to assault the enemy; nobly fulfilling his duty, both as a commander and a soldier. But now
the Norman earl and Philip the clerk, son of Roger, earl of
Montgomery, and Warin de Taney, a castle so named in
Maine, who had before made a feint of retreating, exhorting
each other with mutual spirit, turned round their horses, and
each attacking his man, threw them to the ground. Here
Corbanach, though he knew the earl, yet estimating him
merely by his size, and thinking it inglorious to fly, atoned
for the boldness of attacking him, by a speedy exit; being
instantly deprived of life. The Turks, who were already
clamouring with boastful joy, on seeing his fall, now lost
their lately-acquired hopes, and redoubled their flight.
In
this contest Warin fell: Robert, with Philip, gained the victory. The latter, who acquired renown by this service, but
afterwards, as they report, closed an honourable career at
Jerusalem, was celebrated for his learning as well as his military prowess. Robert, thus coming to Jerusalem, tarnished
his glory by an indelible stain, in refusing a kingdom,85
offered to him, as a king's son, by the consent of all; and
this, as it is asserted, not through awe of its dignity, but
through the fear of endless labour. However, returning
home, where he had reckoned on giving himself up to the
full indulgence of sensual pleasure, God mercifully visited
him, as I believe, for this transgression; every where
thwarting him, and turning all his enjoyments into bitterness; as will be manifested by the sequel.
His wife, the daughter of William de Conversano, whom
he had married in Apulia on his return, and whose surpassing beauty, all endeavours to describe are vain, died after a
few years, by disease;86 misled, as it is said, by the advice of
the midwife, who had ordered her breasts, when in child-
bed, to be bound with a tight bandage, on account of the
copious flow of her milk.
A great consolation, however, in
this extreme distress, was a son by his consort; who, called
William by presage of his grandfather's name, gave hope of
noble talents hereafter. The immense sum which his father-
in-law had given him, under the appellation of dowry, that
he might with it redeem Normandy,87 he lavished so profusely on buffoons, and worthless people, that, in a few days,
he was pennyless. He accelerated his disgrace by his ill-
advised arrival in England, to wrest the kingdom from his
brother Henry; but, failing of the assistance of the traitors
who had invited him, he easily yielded to his brother's terms
of peace: which, by the agreement of the chiefs of either
party, were, that, he should receive an annual present of
three thousand marks from England. These were mere
words: for the king had promised this without any design
of fulfilling it; but, aware of his brother's easiness, had deluded his soft credulity, till his warlike passion should subside.
And he, too, as if contending with fortune whether
she should give or he squander most, discovering the mere
wish of the queen, silently intreating it, kindly forgave the
payment of this immense sum for ever; thinking it a very
great matter, that female pride should condescend to ask a
favour; for he was her godfather. Moreover he forgot
offences, and forgave faults beyond what he ought to have
done: he answered all who applied to him, exactly as they
wished; and that he might not dismiss them in sadness,
promised to give what was out of his power. By this suavity
of disposition, with which he ought to have acquired the
commendations and the love of his subjects, he so excited the
contempt of the Normans, that they considered him as of no
consequence whatever. For then, all the nobility falling at
variance, plunder was universal, and the commonalty were
pillaged. Although the inhabitants laid their injuries before the earl, they gained no kind of redress; for though
incensed at first, yet his anger was soon appeased, either by
a trifling present, or the lapse of time. Roused, however,
by the extremity of their distresses, they determined to implore
the assistance of king Henry to their suffering country. Henry,
according to Cæsar's axiom,88 "That if justice is ever to be
violated, it ought to be violated in favour of the citizens, and
that you may be observant of duty in other points," transported
his forces several times into Normandy to succour expiring
justice, and at last was successful enough to subjugate the
whole country, with the exception of Rouen, Falaise, and Caen.
Robert was now reduced so low, as to wander, hardly to be
recognised, through these towns, obtaining a precarious subsistence from the inhabitants. Disgusted at this, the people
of Caen did not long regard their fidelity, but sending messengers to the king, they closed the gates of their city, with
locks and bolts. Robert learning this, and wishing to escape,
was hardly allowed to depart; his attendant, with the furniture of his chamber, being detained. Thence flying to
Rouen, he had a conference with his lord, the king of France,
and his relation, the earl of Flanders, on the subject of
assistance; but obtaining none, he determined, as his last
resource, to risk a general action. In which, through the
persecution of fate, being taken prisoner, he was kept, by
the laudable affection of his brother, in free custody till the
day of his death; for he endured no evil but solitude, if that
can be called solitude where, by the attention of his keepers,
he was provided with abundance both of amusement and of
food. He was confined, however, till he had survived all
his companions in the Crusade, nor was he liberated to the
day of his death.89
He was so eloquent in his native tongue,
that none could be more pleasant; in other men's affairs, no
counsellor was more excellent; in military skill equal to any;
yet, through the easiness of his disposition, was he ever
esteemed unfit to have the management of the state. But since
I have already said all that I knew of Hugh the Great, and
of the earls of Blois and of Flanders, I think I may, very
properly here conclude my Fourth Book.
NOTES:
1. The council of Clermont, in Auvergne, continued from 18th to 28th
of Nov. A.D. 1095; wherein the decrees of the councils held by pope
Urban at Melfe, Benevento, Troie, and Plaisance, were confirmed, and
many new canons made. Malmesbury's is perhaps the best account now
known of that celebrated council. See the acts of the council of Clermont; Cone. tom. xii. p. 829, &c." -- Hardy.
2. The practice of private wars; for an account of which, see Robertson's
Hist. of Charles V. vol. i.
3. If orders could not be completely conferred on Saturday, the ceremony might be performed on Sunday; and the parties continuing to fast
the two days were considered as one only. -- Durand.
4. The Truce of God, was so called from the eagerness with which its
first proposal was received by the suffering people of every degree: during
the time it endured, no one dared infringe it, by attacking his fellows. See Du Cange: and Robertson's Charles V. vol. i. It was blamed by some
bishops as furnishing an occasion of perjury, and was rejected by the Normans, as contrary to their privileges. The Truce of God was first established in Aquitaine, 1032.
5. There are other orations, said to have been delivered by Urban in this
council, remaining; and L'Abbe (Concil. T. x.) has printed one from a
Vatican MS.; but they are all very inferior to Malmesbury.
6. He alludes to St. Augustine and the fathers of the African church.
7. This gratuitous insult on a brave and noble people is unworthy a writer like William of Malmesbury; but the monkish historians were as deficient in taste as in style. The cloister was a useful seminary to teach the
plodding accuracy which is required to write a chronicle; but for elevation
of mind and diffusion of liberal sentiment, it was as inefficient as it is still.
8. The rustic, observes Guibert, shod his oxen like horses, and placed his
whole family on a cart; where it was amusing to hear the children, on the
approach to any large town or castle, inquiring, if that were Jerusalem.
Guib. Novigent. Opera, p. 482.
9. Fulcher says, those who assumed the cross were estimated at that
number; but that multitudes returned home ere they passed the sea. Fulcherius Carnotensis ap. Gesta Dei per Francos, p. 387.
10. However repugnant this representation may be to the generally received opinion, it is that of an eye-witness, when describing the army
assembled at Constantinople. Fulch. Carnot. p. 389.
11. It should probably be the Elbe, as he appears to describe the people
of northern Germany.
32. Sacred places and bodies of saints long since deceased, are but feeble
safeguards against the outbreak or even moderate agency of human passions, which, in every country and under every form of superstition, act
always in the same way.
40. His Turkish name was Killidge-Arslan: his kingdom of Roum extended from the Hellespont to the confines of Syria, and barred the pilgrimage of Jerusalem. (See De Guignes, tom. iii. p. 2, pp. 10-30.) --
Hardy.
41. When Urban II addressed the multitude from a lofty scaffold in the
market-place of Clermont, inciting the people to undertake the crusade, he
was frequently interrupted by the shout of thousands in their rustic idiom
exclaiming; "Deus lo vult!" "It is indeed the will of God!" replied the
pope; and let those words, the inspiration surely of the Holy Spirit, be
for ever adopted as your war-cry." -- Hardy.
42. Hegesippus, a Greek author of the second century, wrote an account
of the Jewish war, and of the destruction of Jerusalem; said to have been
translated into Latin by St. Ambrose. He also wrote an ecclesiastical history, in five books, a fragment of which only remains.
43. "The siege of Antioch commenced on the 21st of October, 1097, and
ended 3rd June, 1098."-- Hardy.
44. Pharsalia, iv. 579.
45. The balista was a warlike engine for casting either darts or stones: the petrary, for throwing large stones only.
46. Owing to the scarcity of fuel.
47. "Phirouz, a Syrian renegade, has the infamy of this perfidious and
foul treason." -- Hardy.
48. "In describing the host of Corbaguath, most of the Latin historians, the author of the Gesta, (p. 17,) Robertus monachus, (p. 56,) Baldric, (p. 3,) Fulcherius Carnotensis, (p. 392,) Guibert, (p. 512,) William of Tyre, (lib. vi. c. 3, p. 714,) Bernardus Thesaurarius, (c. 39, p. 695,) are content with the vague expressions of 'infinita multitude,' 'immensum agmen,' 'innumeræ copiæ,' 'innumeræ gentes.' The numbers of the Turks are fixed by Albertus Aquensis at two hundred thousand, (lib. iv. c. 10, p. 242,) and by Radulphus Cadomensis (c. 72, p. 309) at four hundred thousand horse, (Gib. Decl. Rom. Emp. vii. pp. 364, 5.)" --Hardy.
49. The greatest part of their march is most accurately traced in Maundrell's Journey from Aleppo to Jerusalem. -- Hardy.
50. The church of St. Mary, at Bethlehem, contained within its walls a
sort of grotto, in which it was pretended Christ was born. -- See Bede, de
Locis Sanctis.
57. "The tower of David was the old tower Psephina or Neblosa; it was
likewise called Castellum Pisanum, from the patriarch Daimbert. (D'Anville, pp. 19-23.)"-- Hardy.
58. That is to say, with several floors or apartments, one above the other;
each of which contained soldiers.
59. Interested motives and conduct, it is to be observed, are several times
imputed to the adventurers from Sicily and Calabria.
60. In allusion to the custom of painting and gilding the ceilings.
61. Godfrey would not, however, accept the name of king, nor wear a
crown of jewels in a city where his Saviour had been crowned with thorns.
He therefore contented himself with the title of "Defender and Baron of
the Holy Sepulchre."
62. Pope Urban however died fourteen days after the taking of Jerusalem.
Daibert was appointed patriarch of the captured city.
63. The church of Golgotha contains within it the rock on which the
cross was fixed for the crucifixion. Bede, Eccles. Hist. p. 264.
64. Fulcher wrote an account of the transactions in Syria, where he was
present, from A.D. to 1095 to 1124. Malmesbury condenses much of his
narrative with his usual ability. It is printed in the Gesta Dei per Francos, and, ap. Duchesne Hist. Franc. Scriptor. tom. iii.
65. Paul was bishop of Antioch in the third century. "He was better
pleased with the title of ducenarius than with that of bishop. His heresy,
like those of Noetus and Labellius in the same century, tended to confound
the mysterious distinction of the Divine persons. He was degraded from
his see in 270, by the sentence of eighty bishops, and altogether deprived
of his office in 274 by Aurelian (Mosheim's Ecc. Hist, vol.i. p. 702, &,c.)" -- Hardy.
66. The sugar cane. "This kind of herb is annually cultivated with great
labour. When ripe they pound it in a mortar, strain off the juice, and
put it in vessels until it coagulates, and hardens in appearance like snow or white salt. This they use scraped and mixed with bread, or dissolved in water. The canes they call Zucra." Albertus Aquensis, ap. Gesta Dei, p. 270.
67. In token of victory, or the completion of their purpose, by having
visited the holy sepulchre. Vide Albert. Aquens. ubi sup. p. 290.
68. See note, p. 384.
69. "Lord have mercy upon us," thrice repeated, three times.
70. Bernard the monk notices the custom of imparting the holy light, in
order that the bishops and people might illuminate their several residences
from it. Fulcher describes this event at great length, and observes that
each person had a wax taper in his hand for the purpose of receiving the
holy fire. Gesta Dei, p. 407.
71. Engines made to cast stones.
72. Fulcher relates, with great coolness, that he saw the bodies of the
Turks, who were slain at Cæsarea, piled up and burned, in order to obtain
the bezants which they had swallowed. Hist. Hierosol. ap. Du Chesne,
tom. iv. 845. This practice of swallowing money is referred to by pope
Urban, and, by his account, the merely burning dead bodies to obtain the
hoard was a very humble imitation of the Saracen custom, with respect to
those who visited Jerusalem before the crusades; which was to put scammony in their drink to make them vomit, and if this did not produce the
desired effect, they proceeded to immediate incision! Guibert Abbas.
Opera, p. 379.
73. Juvenal, Sat. i. 43.
74. Among a variety of instances adduced of her wealth, it is stated, that
the mast of the vessel which conveyed her to Palestine, was covered with
pure gold. Alb. Aquens. ap. Gesta Dei, p. 373.
75. Fulcher assigns a different reason for her being divorced. The king,
being extremely ill and thinking he should not survive, recollected that he
had another wife living, to whom he had been previously married at
Edessa. Du Chesne, t. iv. 864. He had been twice married before.
His first wife, an English woman, accompanied him on the Crusade, and
died in Asia: the second, daughter of Taphnuz, an Armenian nobleman,
following him, by sea, to Jerusalem, was taken by pirates; and being suspected of improper conduct during her absence, was, on her arrival at Jerusalem, about A.D. 1105, repudiated, and shut up in the convent of St.
Anne. Alb. Aquens. ubi sup. Guib. Abbat. Opera, p. 452.
76. "Roger, prince-regent of Antioch, son of Richard, seneschal of
Apulia, married Hodierna, sister of Baldwin II. He was slain in 1119." --
Hardy.
77. This account appears in some measure incorrect, Gozelin and the
king were both confined in the same castle. On its being seized Gozelin
escaped, and collected troops to liberate his friends, who were now themselves besieged. But ere his arrival, the Turks had made themselves
masters of the fortress and carried off the king, who did not recover his
liberty for some time, and then only by paying a considerable ransom.
Fulch. Carnot. et Will. Tyr. ap. Gesta Dei.
78. Baldwin died 21st August, A.D. 1131. -- Hardy.
79. Boamund was baptized Mark; but his father hearing a tale related
of a giant named Buamund, gave him that appellation. When, after his
captivity, he returned to France, many of the nobility requested him to
stand for their children; this he acquiesced in, and giving them his own
name, it became frequent in these parts, though before nearly unknown in
the West. Ord. Vital, p. 817
80. There is a play here on the words Mollucium and Durachium, intended to imply soft and hard, "mollis" and "durus," which it is not easy
to translate.
81. Orderic. Vital, p. 797, gives a different account of his deliverance,
and which has quite a romantic air.
82. Leonard was godson to Clovis king of France, and obtained, through
the favour of that monarch, that, whenever he should see any one who
was in chains, he should immediately be set at liberty. At length it
pleased God to honour him to that degree, that, if any person in confinement invoked his name, their chains immediately fell off, and they might depart; their keepers themselves having no power to prevent them. Vide Surius, Vitæ Sanct. Nov. 6.
83. He is called Pontius in Bouquet, Rec. 13, 7.
84. Helena, daughter of Otho I. duke of Burgundy. Bouquet, Rec. 13, 7.
85. None of the original historians of the crusade mention Robert, by
name, as refusing the crown. Henry of Huntingdon however records it,
and Albertus Aquensis observes, that it was first offered to Raymond, earl
of Toulouse, who declining to accept it, and the other chiefs in succession
following his example, Godfrey was, with difficulty, prevailed on to ascend
the throne. Alb. Aquens. 1. vi. c. 33. and Villehardouin, No. 136.
86. "Sibilla, duchess of Normandy, died by poison, according to Ordericus Vitalis, and the Continuator of William of Jumièges. Malmesbury's
account does not appear to be supported by any contemporary testimony."
-- Hardy.
87. "Normandy was only mortgaged for 10,000 marks, about the 100th
part of its present value." -- Hardy.
88. Cicero de Offic, 1. iii. But Malmesbury seems to have thought it
necessary to soften it; as Cæsar's axiom says, "for the sake of power."
89. Instead of these words "nor was he liberated, &c.," another manuscript reads, "and whether he ever will be set free, is doubtful." Upon
which Mr. Hardy observes that these various readings of the MSS. seem to
mark the periods when the author composed and amended his history. In
other words, the reading in the text was substituted by the author, when he
revised his work after Robert's death, for the reading in the note, which is copied from a MS. written whilst Robert was still in prison.
