 CHAPTER XII While Richard was thus, with his fleet, drawing near to Acre, the armies of the crusaders that were besieging the town had been for some time gradually getting into a very critical situation. This army was made up of a great many different bodies of troops that had come in the course of years from all parts of Europe to recover the Holy Land from the possession of the unbelievers. There were Germans and French and Normans and Italians and people from the different kingdoms of Spain with knights and barons and earls and bishops and archbishops and princes and other dignitaries of all kinds without number. With such a heterogeneous mass there could be no common bond nor any general or central authority. They spoke a great variety of languages and were accustomed to very different modes of warfare and the several orders of knights and the different bodies of troops were continually getting involved in dissensions arising from the jealousies and rivalries which they bore to each other. The enemy, on the other hand, were united under the command of one great and powerful Saracen leader named Saladin. There was another great difference between the crusaders and the Saracens, which was greatly to the advantage of the latter. The Saracens were fighting simply to deliver their country from these bands of invaders, thus their object was won. If any part of the army achieved a success, the other divisions rejoiced at it, for it tended to advance them all toward the common end that all had in view. On the other hand, the chief end and aim of the crusaders was to get glory to themselves in the estimation of friends and neighbors at home, and of Europe in general. It is true that they desired to obtain this glory by victories over the unbelievers and the conquest of the Holy Land. But these last objects were the means and not the end. In the end, in their view, was their own personal glory. The consequence was that while the Saracens would naturally all rejoice at an advantage gained over the enemy by any portion of their army, yet in the camp of the crusaders, if one body of knights performed a great deed of strength or bravery which was likely to attract attention in Europe, the rest were apt to be disappointed and vexed instead of being pleased. They were envious of the fame which the successful party had acquired. In a word, when an advantage was gained by any particular body of troops, the rest did not think of the benefit to the common cause which had thereby been secured, but only of the danger that the fame acquired by those who gained it might eclipse or outshine their own renown. The various orders of knights and the commanders of the different bodies of troops fied with each other, not only in respect to the acquisition of glory, but also in the elegance of their arms, the splendor of their tents and banners, the beauty and gorgeous comparisons of the horses and the pomp and parade with which they conducted all their movements and operations. The camp was full of quarrels too among the great leaders in respect to the command of the places in the Holy Land which had been conquered in previous campaigns. These places, as fast as they had been taken, had been made principalities in kingdoms to give titles of rank to the crusaders who had taken them, and though the places themselves had in many instances been lost again and given up to the Saracens, the titles remained to be quarreled about among the crusaders. There was particularly a great quarrel at this time about the title of King of Jerusalem. It was a mere empty title, for Jerusalem was in the hands of the Saracens. But there were twenty very powerful and influential claimants to it, each of whom maneuvered and intrigued incessantly, with all the other knights and commanders in the army, to gain partisans to his side. Thus the camp of the crusaders, from one cause to another, had become one universal scene of rivalry, jealousy, and discord. There was a small approach toward a greater degree of unity of feeling just before the time of Richard's arrival, produced by the common danger to which they began to see they were exposed. They had now been two years besieging anchor and had accomplished nothing. All the furious attempts that they had made to storm the place had been unsuccessful. The walls were too thick and solid for the battering-grams to make any serious impression upon them, and the garrison within were so numerous and so well armed, and they hurled down such a tremendous shower of darts, javelins, stones, and other missiles of every kind upon all who came near, that immense numbers of those who were brought up near the walls to work the engines were killed, while the besieged themselves, being protected by the battlements on the walls, were comparatively safe. In the course of the two years, during which the siege had now been going on, bodies of troops from all parts of Europe had been continually coming and going, and, as in those days, there was far less of system and organization in the conduct of military affairs than there is now, the camp was constantly kept in a greater or less degree of confusion, so that it is impossible to know with certainty how many were engaged and what the actual loss of life had been. The lowest estimate is that 150,000 men perished before acre during the siege, and some historians calculate the loss at 500,000. The number of deaths was greatly increased by the plague, which prevailed at one time among the troops and committed fearful ravages. One thing, however, must be said, injustice to the reckless and violent men who commanded these bands, and that is, that they did not send their poor, helpless followers, the common soldiers, into a danger which they kept out of themselves. It was a point of honor with them to take the foremost rank, and to expose themselves fully at all times to the worst dangers of the combat. It is true that the knights and nobles were better protected by their armor than the soldiers. They were generally covered with steel from head to foot, and so heavily loaded with it, were they, that it was only on horseback that they could sustain themselves in battle at all. Indeed, it was said that if a full armed knight in those days were, from any accident, unhorst, his armor was so heavy that, if he were thrown down upon the ground in his fall, he could not possibly get up again without help. Notwithstanding this protection, however, the knights and commanders exposed themselves so much that they suffered in full proportion with the rest. It was estimated that during the siege, their fell in battle, or perished of sickness or fatigue, eighteen or twenty archbishops and bishops, forty earls, and no less than five hundred barons, all of whose names are recorded. So they obtained what they went for, commemoration and history. Whether the reward was worth the price they paid for it, in sacrificing everything like happiness and usefulness in life, and throwing themselves, after a few short months of furious and angry warfare, into a bloody grave, is a very serious question. As soon as Richard's fleet appeared in view, the whole camp was thrown into a state of the wildest commotion. The drums were beat, the trumpets were sounded, and flags and banners without number were waved in the air. The troops were paraded, and when the ships arrived at the shore, and Richard and his immediate attendants and followers landed, they were received by the commanders of the Crusades Army, on the beach with the highest honors, while the soldiers drawn up around filled the air with long and loud acclamations. Mary and Garia had come from Cyprus, not in Richard's ship, although she was now married to him. She had continued in her own galley, and was still under the charge of her former guardian, Stephen of Turnham. That ship had been fitted up purposely for the use of the Queen and the Princess, and the arrangements on board were more suitable for the accommodation of ladies than were those of Richard's ship, which being strictly a war vessel, and intended always to be foremost in every fight, was arranged solely with a view to the purposes of battle, and was therefore not a very suitable place for a bride. Baron Garia and Joanna landed very soon after Richard. Philip was a little peaked at the suddenness with which Richard had married another lady, so soon after the engagement with Alice had been terminated, but he considered how urgent the necessity was that he should now be on good terms with his ally, and so he concealed his feelings and received Baron Garia himself as she came from her ship, and assisted her to land. CHAPTER XIII. It was but a very short time after Richard had landed his forces at Acre, and had taken his position in the camp on the plain before the city, before serious difficulties began to arise between him and Philip. This indeed might have been easily foreseen. It was perfectly certain that, so soon as Richard should enter the camp of the Crusaders, he would immediately assume such heirs of superiority, and attempt to lord it over all the other kings and princes there, in so reckless and dictatorial a manner, that there could be no peace with him, except an entire submission to his will. This was, accordingly, soon found to be the case. He began to quarrel with Philip in a very short time, not withstanding the sincere desire that Philip manifested to live on good terms with him. Of course the knights and barons, and, after a time, the common soldiers in the two armies, took sides with their respective sovereigns. One great source of trouble was that Richard claimed to be the feudal sovereign of Philip himself, on account of some old claims that he advanced as Duke of Normandy over the French kingdom. This pretension Philip, of course, would not admit, and the question gave rise to endless disputes and heart-burnings. Presently the quarrel extended to other portions of the army of the Crusaders, and the different orders of knights and bodies of soldiers espoused, some one side and some the other. The knights' hospitalers, described in a former chapter, who had now become a numerous and very powerful force, took Richard's side. Indeed, Richard was personally popular among the knights and barons generally, on account of his prodigious strength, and the many feats of reckless daring that he performed. When he went out, everybody flocked to see him, and the whole camp was full of stories that were told of his wonderful exploits. He made use of the distinction which he thus acquired as a means of overshadowing Philip's influence and position. This Philip, of course, resented, and then the English said that he was envious of Richard's superiority, and they attempted to lay the whole blame of the quarrel on him, attributing the unfriendly feeling simply to what they considered his weak and ungenerous jealousy of a more successful and fortunate rival. However this may be, the disagreement soon became so great that the two kings could no longer cooperate together in fighting against their common enemy. Philip planned an assault against the town. He was going to take it by storm. Richard did not join him in this attempt. He made it an excuse that he was sick at the time. Indeed, he was sick not long after his arrival at Acre, but whether his illness really prevented his cooperating with Philip in the assault, or was only made use of as a pretext, is not quite certain. At any rate, Richard left Philip to make the assault alone, and the consequence was that the French troops were driven back from the walls with great loss. Richard secretly rejoiced at this discomforture, but Philip was in a great rage. The assault. Not long afterward Richard planned an assault to be executed with his troops alone, for Philip now stood aloof, and refused to aid him. Richard had no objection to this. Indeed he rejoiced in an opportunity to show the world that he could succeed in accomplishing a feat of arms after Philip had attempted it and failed. So he brought forward the engines that he had caused to be built at Messina and set them up. He organized his assaulting columns and prepared for the attack. He made the scaling ladders ready, and provided his men with great stores of ammunition. And when the appointed day at length arrived, he led his men on to the assault, fully confident that he was about to perform an exploit that would fill all Europe with his fame. But unfortunately for him he was doomed to disappointment. His men were driven back from the walls. The engines were overthrown and broken to pieces, or set on fire by flaming javelins sent from the walls, and burned to the ground. Vast numbers of his soldiers were killed, and at length, all hope of success having disappeared. The troops were drawn off, discomforted, and excessively chagrined. The reflections which would naturally follow in the minds of Philip and Richard, as they sat in their tents, moodily pondering on these failures, led them to think that it would be better for them to cease quarreling with each other, and to combine their strength against the common enemy. Indeed, their situation was now fast becoming very critical, in as much as every day during which the capture of the town was delayed. The troops of Saladin on the mountains around them were gradually increasing in numbers, and gaining in the strength of their position, and they might at any time now be expected to come pouring down upon the plain in such force as entirely to overwhelm the whole army of the crusaders. So Richard and Philip made an agreement with each other, that they would thenceforth live together on better terms, and endeavor to combine their strength against the common enemy, instead of wasting it in petty quarrels with each other. From this time things went on much better in the camp of the Allies, while yet there was no real or cordial friendship between Richard and Philip, or any of the respective partisans. Richard attempted secretly to entice away knights and soldiers from Philip's service by offering them more money or better rewards than Philip paid them, and Philip, when he discovered this, attempted to retaliate by endeavoring to buy off, in the same manner some of Richard's men. In a word, the fires of the feud, though covered up in hidden, were burning away underneath as fiercely as ever. Although the Allies failed to reduce Aka by assault, the town was at last compelled to submit to them through the distress and misery to which the inhabitants and the garrison were finally reduced by famine. They bore these sufferings as long as they could, but the time arrived at last when they could be endured no longer. They hoped for some relief, which was to have been sent to them by sea from Cairo, but it did not come. They also hoped, day after day and week after week, that Saladin would be strong enough to come down from the mountains and break through the camp of the Crusaders on the plain and rescue them, but they were disappointed. The Crusaders had fortified their camp in the strongest manner, and then they were so numerous and so fully armed that Saladin thought it useless to make any general attack upon them with the force that he had under his command. The siege had continued two years when Philip and Richard arrived. They came early in the spring of 1191. Of course their arrival greatly strengthened the camp of the Crusaders, and went far to extinguish the remaining hopes of the garrison. The commanders, however, did not immediately give up, but held out some months longer, hoping every day for the arrival of the promised relief from Cairo. In the meantime they continued to endure a succession of the most vigorous assaults from the Crusaders of which very marvelous tales are told in the romantic narratives of those times. In these narratives we have accounts of the engines which Richard set up opposite the walls and of the efforts made by the besieged to set them on fire, of Richard's working himself like any common soldier in putting these engines together and in extinguishing the flames when they were set on fire, of a vast fireproof shed which was at last contrived to cover and protect the engines, the covering of the roof being made fireproof with green hides, and of a plan which was finally adopted when it was found that the walls could not be beaten down by battering rams, of undermining them with a view of making them tumble down by their own weight. In this case the workmen who undermined the walls were protected at their work by sheds built over them, and in order to prevent the walls falling upon them while they were mining they propped them up with great beams of wood so places they could make fires under the beams when they were ready for the walls to fall and then have time to retreat to a safe distance before they should be burned through. This plan however did not succeed for the walls were so prodigiously thick and the blocks of stone of which they were composed were so firmly bound together that instead of falling into a mass of ruins as Richard had expected when the props had been burned through they only settled down bodily on one side into the excavation and remained nearly as good for all purposes of defence as ever. It was said that during the siege Richard and Philip obtained a great deal of information in respect to the plans of the Saracens through the instrumentality of some secret friend within the city who contrived to find means of continually sending them important intelligence. This intelligence related sometimes to the designs of the garrison in respect to sorties that they were going to make or to the secret plans that they had formed for procuring supplies of provisions or other sucker. At other times they related to the movements and designs of Soledin who was outside among the mountains and especially to the attacks that he was contemplating on the allied camp. This intelligence was communicated in various ways. The principle method was to send a letter by means of an arrow. An arrow frequently came down in some part of the allied camp which on being examined was found to have a letter wound about the shaft. The letter was addressed to Richard and was of course immediately carried to his tent. It was always found to contain very important information in respect to the condition or plans of the siege. If a sortie was intended from the city it stated the time and the place and detailed all the arrangements thus enabling Richard to be on his guard. So if the Saracens were projecting an attack on the lines from within the whole plan of it was fully explained and of course it would then be very easy for Richard to frustrate it. The writer of the letters said that he was a Christian but would not say who he was and the mystery was never explained. It's quite possible that there's very little truth in the whole story. At all events though the assaults which the allies made against the walls and bulk walks of the town were none of them highly successful. The general progress of the siege was altogether in their favour and against the poor Saracens shut up within it. The last hope which they indulged was that some supplies would come to them by sea but Richard's fleet which remained at anchor off the town blockaded the port so completely that there was no possibility that anything could get in. The last lingering hope was therefore at length abandoned and when the besiege found that they could endure their horrible misery no longer they sent a flag of truce out to the camp of the besieges with a proposal to negotiate terms of surrender. Then followed a long negotiation with displays of haughty arrogance on one side and heartbroken and bitter humiliation on the other. The Saracens first proposed what they considered fair and honorable terms and Philip was disposed to accept them but Richard rejected them with scorn. After a vain attempt at resistance Richard was obliged to yield and to allow his imperious and overbearing ally to have his own way. The Saracens wished to stipulate for the lives of the garrison but Richard refused. He told them they must submit unconditionally and for his part he did not care he said whether they yielded now or continued the contest. He should soon be in possession of the city at any rate and if they held out until he took it by storm then of course it would be given up to the unbridled fury of the soldiers who would mercilessly massacre every living thing they should find in it and seize every species of property as plunder. This he declared was sure to be the end of the siege and that very soon unless they chose to submit the Saracens then asked what terms he required of them. Richard stated his terms and they asked for a little time to consider them and to confer with Saladin who being the sultan was their sovereign and without his approval they could not act. So the negotiation was opened and after various difficulties and delays a convention was finally agreed upon. The terms were these. First, the city was to be surrendered to the allied armies and all the arms, ammunition, military stores and property of all kinds which you contained were to be forfeit to the conquerors. Second, the troops and the people of the town were to be allowed to go free on payment of a ransom. Third, the ransom by which the besieged purchased their lives and liberty was to be made up as follows. One, the wood of the cross on which Christ was crucified which was alleged to be in Saladin's possession was to be restored. Saladin was to set at liberty the Christian captives which he had taken in the course of the war from various armies of the crusaders and which he now held as prisoners. The number of these prisoners was about 1500. Three, he was to pay 200,000 pieces of gold. Fourth, Richard was to retain a large body of men. It was said that there were about 5,000 in all consisting of the soldiers of the garrison or inhabitants of the town as hostages for the fulfillment of these conditions. These men were to be kept 40 days or if at the end of that time Saladin had not fulfilled the conditions of the surrender they were all to be put to death. Perhaps Saladin agreed to these terms under the pressure of the dire necessity compelled as he was to assent to whatever Richard might propose by the dreadful extremity to which the town was reduced without sufficiently considering whether he would be really able to fulfill his promises. At any rate these were the promises that he made and as soon as the treaty was duly executed the gates of Acre were open to the conquerors while Saladin himself broke up his encampment on the mountains and withdrew his troops farther into the interior of the country. Although the treaty was made and executed in the names of both the kings Richard had taken into his hands almost the whole conduct of the negotiation and now that the army was about to take possession of the town he considered himself the conqueror of it. He entered with great parade assigning to Philip altogether a secondary part in the ceremony. He also took possession of the principal palace of the place as his quarters and there established himself with Beringoria and Joanna while he left Philip to take up his residence wherever he could. The flags of both monarchs were however raised upon the walls and so far Philip's claim to joint sovereignty over the place was acknowledged but none of the other princes or potentates who had been engaged in a siege were allowed to share this honour. One of them the Archduke of Austria ventured to raise his banner on one of the towers but Richard pulled it down tore it to pieces and trampled it under his feet. This of course threw the Archduke into a dreadful rage and most of the other smaller princes in the army shared the indignation that he felt at the grasping disposition which Richard manifested and at his violent and domineering behaviour but they were helpless. Richard was stronger than they and they were compelled to submit. As for Philip he had long since begun to find his situation extremely disagreeable. He was very sensitive to the overbearing and arrogant treatment which he received but he'd either not the force of character or the physical strength to resist it. Now since Acre had fallen he found his situation worse than ever. There was no longer any enemy directly before them and it was only the immediate presence of an enemy that had thus far kept Richard within any sort of bounds. Philip saw now plainly that if he were to remain in the Holy Land and attempt to continue the war he could only do it by occupying an altogether secondary and subordinate position and to this he thought it was wholly inconsistent with his rights and dignities as an independent sovereign to descend so he began to revolve secretly in his mind how he could honorably withdraw from the expedition and return home. While things were in the state a great quarrel which had for a long time been gradually growing up in the camp of the Crusaders but had been restrained and kept in some degree subdued by the excitement of the siege broke out in great violence. The question was who should claim the title of King of Jerusalem? Jerusalem was at this time in the hands of the Saracens so that the title was for the time being at least a mere empty name. Still there was very fierce contention to decide who should possess it. It seemed that it originally descended to a certain lady named Sabila. It had come down to her as the descendant and heir of the very celebrated Crusader named Geoffrey of Boulion who was the first king of Jerusalem. He became king of Jerusalem by having headed the army of the Crusaders that first conquered it from the Saracens. This was about a hundred years before the time of the taking of Acre. The knights and generals of his army elected him king of Jerusalem a short time after he had taken it and the title descended from him to Sabila. Sabila was married to a famous knight named Guy of Lucian and he claimed the title of king of Jerusalem in the right of his wife. This claim was acknowledged by the rest of the Crusaders so long as Sabila lived but as a length she died and then many persons maintained that the crown descended to her sister Isabella. Isabella was married to a knight named Humphry of Huron who had not the strength nor resolution to assert his claims. Indeed he had the reputation of being a weak and timid man. Accordingly another knight named Conrad of Montferrat conceived the idea of taking his place. Contrived to seize and bear away the lady Isabella and afterward to procure a divorce for her from her husband and then finally he married her himself. He now claimed to be king of Jerusalem in right of Isabella while Guy of Lucian maintained his right to the crown still continued. This was a nice question to be settled by such a rude horde of fighting men as these Crusaders were and some took one side of it and some the other according to the various ideas on the subject of rights of succession or their personal partiality inclined them. Now it happened that Philip and Richard had early taken opposite sides in respect to this affair as indeed they did on almost every other subject that came before them. Guy of Lucian had gone to visit Richard while he was in Cyprus and there having had the field all to himself had told his story in such a way and also made such proposals and promises as to enlist Richard in his favour. Richard there agreed that he would take Guy's part in the controversy and he furnished him with a sum of money at that time to relieve his immediate necessities. He did this with a view of securing Guy as one of his partisans and adherents in any future difficulties in which he might be involved in the course of the campaign. On the other hand when Philip arrived at Acre which it will be recollected while some time before Richard came the friends and partisans of Conrad who were there at once proceeded to lay Conrad's case before him and they so far succeeded as to lead Philip to commit himself on that side. Thus the foundation of the quarrel on this subject was laid before Richard landed. The quarrel was kept down however during the progress of the siege but when at length the town was taken it broke out anew and the whole body of crusaders became greatly agitated with it. At length some sort of compromise was affected or at least what was called a compromise but really so far as the substantial interests involved were concerned Richard had it all his own way. This affair still further alienated Philip's mind from his ally and made him more desirous than ever to abandon the enterprise and return home. Accordingly after the two kings had been established in Acre a short time Philip announced that he was sick and unable any longer to prosecute the war in person and that he was intending to return home. When this was announced to Richard he exclaimed shame on him eternal shame and on his kingdom if he goes off and abandons us now before the work is done. The work which Richard meant to have done was the complete recovery of the Holy Land from the possession of the Saracens. The taking of Acre was a great step but after all it was only a beginning. The army of the allies was now to march into the interior of the country to pursue Saladin in hopes of conquering him in a general battle and so at length gaining possession of the whole country and recovering Jerusalem. Richard therefore was very indignant with Philip for being disposed to abandon the enterprise while the work to be accomplished was only just begun. There was another reason why Richard was alarmed at the idea of Philip's returning home. He will take advantage of my absence said he and invade my dominions and so when I return I shall find that I have been robbed of half my provinces. So Richard did all he could did swayed Philip from returning but at length finding that he could produce no impression on his mind he yielded and gave a sort of surly consent to the arrangement. Let him go he said if he will poor man he is sick he says I suppose he thinks he cannot live unless he can see Paris again. Richard insisted however that if Philip went he should leave his army behind or at least a large portion of it so Philip agreed to leave 10,000 men. These men were to be under the command of the Duke of Burgundy one of Philip's most distinguished nobles. The Duke however himself was to be subject to the orders of Richard. Richard also exacted of Philip a solemn oath that when he had returned to France he would not in any way molest or invade any of his that is Richards possessions or make war against any of his vassals or allies. This agreement was to continue in force and to be binding upon Philip until 40 days after Richard should have himself returned from the Crusade. These things being all thus arranged Philip began to make his preparations openly for embarking on his voyage home. The knights and barons and indeed the whole body of the army considered Philip's leaving them as a very culpable abandonment of the Enterprise and they crowded around the place of embarkation when he went on board his vessel and manifested their displeasure with ill suppressed hisses and groans. The time which had been fixed upon for Saladin to comply with the stipulations of the surrender was 40 days and this period was now after Philip had gone drawing rapidly to a close. Saladin found that he could not fulfill the conditions to which he had agreed. As the day approached he made various excuses and apologies to Richard and he also sent him a number of costly presents hoping perhaps in that way to propitiate his favour and prevent his insisting on the execution of the dreadful penalty which had been agreed upon in case of default namely the slaughter of the 5000 hostages which had been left in his hands. The time at last expired and the treaty had not been fulfilled. Richard without waiting even a day determined that the hostages should be slain. A rumour was set in circulation that Saladin had put to death all his Christian prisoners. This rumour was false but it served its purpose of exasperating the minds of the crusaders so as to bring the soldiers up well to the necessary pitch of ferocity for executing so terrible a work. The slaughter of 5000 defenseless and unresisting men in cold blood is very hard work for even soldiers to perform and if such a work is to be done it is always necessary to contrive some means of heating the blood of the executioners in order to ensure the accomplishment of it. In this case the rumour that Saladin had murdered his Christian prisoners was more than sufficient. It brought up the allied army to such a frenzy that the soldiers assembled in crowds and rightously demanded that the Saracen prisoners should be given up to them in order that they might have their revenge. Accordingly at the appointed time Richard gave the command and the whole body of the prisoners was brought out and conducted the plane beyond the lines of the camp. A few were reserved. These were persons of rank and consideration who were to be saved in the hopes that they might have wealthy friends at home who would pay money to ransom them. The rest were divided into two portions one of which was committed to the charge of the Duke of Burgundy and the other which had led himself. The dreadful processions formed by these Richard men were followed by the excited soldiery that were to act as their executioners who came crowding on in throngs waving their swords and filling the air with their ferocious threats and imbracations and exulting in the prospect of having absolutely their fill of the pleasure of killing men without any danger to themselves to mar the enjoyment of it. The massacre was carried into effect in the fullest possible manner and after the men were killed the Christians occupied themselves in cutting open their bodies to find jewels and other articles of value which they pretended that the poor captives had swallowed in order to hide them from their enemy. Instead of being ashamed of this deed Richard gloried in it. He considered it a wonderful proof of his zeal for the cause of Christ. The writers of the time praised it the Saracens they maintained were the enemies of God and whoever slew them did God's service. One of the historians of the time says that angels from heaven appeared to Richard at the time and urged him to persevere to the end crying aloud to him while the massacre was going on kill kill spare them not. It seems to us at the present day most amazing that the minds of men could possibly be so perverted as to think that in performing such deeds as this they were sustaining the cause of the meek and gentle Jesus of Nazareth and were the objects of approval and favor with God the common father of us all who has declared that he has made of one blood all the nations of the earth to live together in peace and unity. End of chapter 14. Chapter 15 of King Richard I this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org King Richard I by Jacob Abbott Chapter 15 Progress of the Crusade The first thing which Richard had now to do before commencing a march into the interior of the country was to set everything in order at Acre and to put the place in a good condition of defense in case it should be attacked while he was gone. The walls in many places were to be repaired particularly where they had been undermined by Richard's sappers and in many places too they had been broken down or greatly damaged by the action of the battering rams and other engines. In the case of sieges prosecuted by deans of artillery in modern times the whole interior of the town as well as the walls is usually battered dreadfully by the shot and shells that are thrown over into it. A shell which is a hollow ball of iron sometimes more than a foot in diameter and with sides two or three inches thick and filled within with gunpowder is thrown from a mortar at a distance of some miles high into the air over the town whence it descends into the streets or among the houses. The engraving represents the form of the mortar and the manner in which the shell is thrown from it though in this case the shell represented is directed not against the town but is thrown from a battery under the walls of the town against the camp or the trenches of the procedures. These shells of course when they descend come crashing through the roofs of the buildings on which they strike or bury themselves in the ground if they fall in the street and then burst with a terrific explosion. A town that has been bombarded in a siege becomes sometimes almost a mere mass of ruins. Often the bursting of a shell sets a building on fire and then the dreadful effects of the conflagration are added to the horrors of the scene. In ancient sieges on the other hand none of these terrible agencies could be employed. The battering rams could touch nothing but the walls and the outer towers and it was comparatively very little injury that they could do to these. The javelins and arrows and other light missiles even those that were thrown from the military engines if by chance they passed over the walls and entered the town could do no serious mischief to the buildings there. The worst that could happen from them was the wounding or killing of some person in the streets who might just at that moment be passing by. In repairing acre therefore and putting it again in a perfect condition for defense nothing but the outer walls required attention. Richard set companies of workmen upon these and before long everything was restored as it was before. There were then some ceremonies to be performed within the town to purify it from the pollution which it had sustained by having been in the possession of the Saracens. All the Christian churches particularly and the monasteries and other religious houses were to be thus restored from the desecration which they had undergone and consecrated anew to the service of Christ. In the meantime while these works and performances were going on the soldiers gave themselves up to the indulgences of every kind. Great stores of wine were found in the place which were bestowed upon the troops and the streets day and night were filled with riotous revelings. The commanders themselves the knights and the barons and all the other men of rank that pertain to the army fell into the same way and they were very unwilling that the time should come when they were to leave such a place of security and indulgence and take the field again for a march in pursuit of Saladin. At length however the time arrived when the march must be commenced. Richard had learned by means of scouts and spies which he had sent out that Saladin was moving to the southward and westward retreating in fact towards Jerusalem which was of course the great point that he wished to defend. That indeed was the great point of the attack for the main object which the crusaders proposed to themselves in invading Palestine was to get possession of the sepulchre where Christ was buried at Jerusalem. The recovery of the Holy Sepulchre was the watchword and among all the people who are watching the progress of the enterprise with so much solicitude and also among the crusaders themselves the progress that was made was valued just in proportion as it tended to the accomplishment of this end. Richard set apart a sufficient number of troops for the garrison to hold and defend Acre and then on taking a census of the remainder of his force found that he had 30 000 men to march with in pursuit of Saladin. He arranged his force in five divisions and placed each under the command of a competent general. There were two very celebrated bodies of knights that occupied positions of honour in this march. They were the knights Templars and the knights of St John or the Hospitallers the order that had been described in their previous chapter of this volume. The Templars led the van of the army and the Hospitallers brought up the rear. The march was commenced on the 22nd of August which was not far from two months from the time that Acre was surrendered. The course which the army was to take was at first to follow the seashore toward the southward to Jaffa a port nearly opposite to Jerusalem. It was deemed necessary to take possession of Jaffa before going into the interior and besides by moving along the coast the ships and galleys containing the stores for the army could accompany them and supply them abundantly from time to time as they might require. By this course too they would be drawing nearer to Jerusalem though not directly approaching it. The arrangements connected with the march of the army were conducted with great ceremony and parade. The knights wore their costly armor and were mounted on horses splendidly equipped and comparisoned. In many cases the horses themselves were protected like the riders with an armor of steel. The columns were preceded by trumpeters who awakened innumerable echoes from the mountains and from the cliffs of the shore with their animating and exciting music and innumerable flags and banners with the most gorgeous decorations were waving in the air. When the expedition halted at night heralds passed through the several camps to the sound of trumpets and pausing at each one and giving a signal all the soldiers in the camp kneeled down upon the ground. When the heralds proclaimed in a loud voice three times God saved the holy sepulcher and all the soldiers said amen. The march was commenced on the 22nd of August and it was about 60 miles from Aka to Jaffa. Of course an army of 30,000 men must move very slowly. There is so much time consumed in breaking up the encampment in the morning and in forming a techane at night and in giving such a mighty host their rest and food in the middle of the day and the men moreover are so loaded with the arms and ammunition and with the necessary supplies of food and clothing which they have to carry that only a very slow progress can be made. In this case too the march was harassed by Saladin who hovered on the flank of the crusaders and followed them all the way sending down small parties from the mountains to attack and cut off stragglers and threaten the column at every exposed point so as to keep them continually on the alert. The necessity of being always ready to form in order of battle to meet the enemy should he suddenly come upon them restricted them very much in their motions and made a great deal of maneuvering necessary which of course greatly increased the fatigue of the soldiers and very much diminished the speed of their progress. Richard wished much to bring on a general battle being confident that he should conquer if he could engage in it on equal terms but Saladin would not give him an opportunity he kept the main body of his troops sheltered among the mountains and only advanced slowly parallel with the coast where he could watch and harass the movements of his enemies without coming into general conflict with them. This state of things continued for about three weeks and then at last Richard reached Jaffa. The two armies maneuvered for some time in the vicinity of the town and finally they concentrated their forces in the neighborhood of a plane near the seashore at a place called Azotos which was some miles beyond Jaffa. Saladin had by this time strengthened himself so much that he was ready for battle he accordingly marched on to the attack. He directed his assault in the first instance on the wing of Richard's army which was formed of the French troops that were under the command of the Duke of Burgundy. They resisted them successfully and drove them back. Richard watched the operation but for a time took no part in it except to make feigned advances from time to time to threaten the enemy and to harass them by compelling them to perform numerous fatiguing evolutions. His soldiers and especially the knights and barons in his army were very impatient at his delaying so long to take an active and efficient part in the contest. But at last when he found that the Saracen troops were wearied and were beginning to be thrown in a little confusion he gave the signal for a charge and rode forward at the head of the troop mounted on his famous charger and flourishing his heavy battle axe in the air. The onset was terrible. Richard inspired his whole troop by his reckless and headlong bravery and by the terrible energy with which he gave himself to the work of slaughtering all who came in his way. The darts and javelins that were shot by the enemy glanced off from him without inflicting any wound, being turned aside by the steel armor that he wore while every purse that came near enough to him to strike him with any other weapon was felled at once to the ground by a blow from the ponderous battle axe. The example which Richard thus set was followed by his men and in a short time the Saracens began everywhere to give way, when in the case of such a combat one side begins to yield it is all over with them. When they turn to retreat they of course become at once defenseless and the pursuers press on upon them killing them without mercy and at their pleasure and with very little danger of being killed themselves. A man can fight very well while he is pursuing but scarcely at all when he is being pursued. It was not long before Saladin's army was flying in all directions, the crusaders pressing upon them everywhere in their confusion and cutting them down mercilessly in great numbers. The slaughter was immense, about seven thousand of the Saracen troops were slain, among them were 32 of Saladin's highest and best officers. As soon as the Saracens escaped the immediate danger, when the crusaders had given over the pursuit, they had rallied and Saladin formed them again into something like order. He then commenced a regular and formal retreat into the interior. He first however sent detachments to all the country around to dismantle the towns, to destroy all the stores of provisions and to seize and carry away everything of value that could be of any use to the conquerors. A broad extent of the country through which Richard would have to march in advancing towards Jerusalem being thus laid waste, the Saracens withdrew farther into the interior and there Saladin set himself at work to reorganize his broken army once more and to prepare for new plans of resistance to the invaders. Richard withdrew his army to Jaffa and taking possession of the town, he established himself there. It was now September, the season of the year was very hot and unhealthy, and though the Allied army had thus far been victorious, still there was a great deal of sickness in the camp and the soldiers were much exhausted by the fatigue which they had endured and by their exposure to the sun. Richard was desirous notwithstanding this to take the field again and advance into the interior so as to follow up the victory which had been gained over Saladin at Azotas. But his officers, especially those of the French division of the army under the command of the Duke of Burgundy, thought it not safe to move forward so soon. It would be better to remain a short time in Jaffa, they said, to recruit the army and to prepare for advancing in a more secure and efficient manner. Besides, they said, we need Jaffa for a military post and it will be best to remain here until we shall have repaired the fortifications and put the place in a good condition of defence. But this was only an excuse. What the army really desired was to enjoy a repose for a time. They found it much more agreeable to live in ease and indulgence within the walls of a town than to march in the hot sun across so arid a country, loaded down as they were, with heavy armor, and kept constantly in a state of anxious and watchful suspense by the danger of sudden attacks from the enemy. Richard acceded to the wishes of the officers and decided to remain for a time in Jaffa, but they instead of devoting themselves energetically to making good again the fortifications of the town went very languidly to the work. They allowed themselves and the men to spend their time in inaction and indulgence. In the meantime, Soledin had gathered his forces together again and was drawing fresh recruits every day to his standard from the interior of the country. He was preparing for a more vigorous resistance than ever. Richard has been strongly condemned for thus remaining inactive in Jaffa after the Battle of Asetus. Historians, narrating the account of his campaign, say that he ought to have marched at once towards Jerusalem before Soledin should have had time to organize any new means of resistance. But it is impossible for those who are at a distance from the scene of action in such a case, and who have only that partial and imperfect account of the facts which can be obtained through the testimony of others to form any reliable judgment on such a question. Whether it would be prudent or imprudent for a commander to advance after a battle can be known in general only to those who are on the ground and who have personal knowledge of all the circumstances of the case. While Richard remained in Jaffa, he made frequent excursions into this surrounding territory at the head of a small troop of adventurous men who liked to accompany him. Other small detachments were often sent out. These parties went sometimes to collect forage and sometimes to reconnoiter the country with a view of ascertaining Soledin's position and plans. Richard took great delight in these excursions, nor were they attended with any great danger. At the present day, going out on a reconnoitering parties is very dangerous service indeed, for men wear no armor and they are liable at any moment to be cut down by a mini rifle ball fired from an unseen hand a mile away. In those days the case was very different. There were no missiles that could be thrown for a greater distance than a few yards and for all such the heavy steel armor that the Knights wore furnished in general and ample protection. The only serious danger to be feared was that of coming unwearly upon a superior party of the enemy, lying in ambush to entrap the reconnoiterers and in being surrounded by them. But Richard had so much confidence in the power of his horse and in his own prodigious personal strength that he had very little fear. So he scaled the country in every direction as the head of a small attendant squadron, whenever he pleased, considering such an excursion in the light of nothing more than an exciting morning ride. Of course, after going out many times on such excursions and coming back safely, men gradually became less cautious and exposed themselves to greater and greater risks. It was so with Richard and his troop and several times they ventured so far as to put themselves in very serious peril. Indeed, Richard once or twice very narrowly escaped being taken prisoner. At one time he was saved by the generosity of one of his knights named Sir William. The King and his party were surprised by a large party of Saracens and nearly surrounded. For a moment it was uncertain whether they would be able to affect their retreat. In the midst of the fray Sir William called out that he was the King and this so far divided the attention of the party as to confuse them somewhat and break the force and concentration of their attack and thus Richard succeeded in making his escape. Sir William however was taken prisoner and carried to Soledin but he was immediately liberated by Richard's pain the ransom that Soledin demanded for him. Another time word came to him suddenly in the town that a troop of the Knights Templars were attacked and nearly surrounded by Saracens and that unless they helped immediately they would all be cut off. Richard immediately seized his armor and began to put it on and at the same time he ordered one of his earls to mount his horse and hurry out to the rescue of the Templars with all the horsemen that were ready saying also that he would follow himself with more men as soon as he could put his armor on. Now the armoring of a knight for battle in the Middle Ages was as long an operation as it is at the present day for a lady to dress for a ball. The several pieces of which the armor was composed were so heavy and so complicated moreover in their fast ninks that they could only be put on by means of much aid from assistance. While Richard was in the midst of the process another messenger came saying that the danger of the Templars was imminent. Then I must go, said Richard, as I am. I should be unworthy of the name of King if I were to abandon those whom I've promised to stand by and sucker in every danger. So he leapt upon his horse and rode on alone. On arriving at the spot he plunged into the thickest of the fight and there he fought so furiously and made such havoc amongst the Saracens with his battle-axe that they fell back and the Templars and also the party that had gone out with the Earl were rescued and made good their retreat to the town leaving only on the field those who had fallen before Richard arrived. Many such adventures as this are recorded in the old histories of this campaign and they were made the subjects of a great number of songs and ballads written and sung by the troubadours in those days in honour of the valiant deeds of the crusaders. The armies remained in Jaffa through the whole month of September. During this time a sort of negotiation was opened between Richard and Saladin with a view to a groin if possible upon some terms of peace. The object on the part of Saladin in these negotiations was probably delay for the longer he could continue to keep Richard in Jaffa the stronger he would himself become and the more able to resist Richard's intended march to Jerusalem. Richard consented to opening these negotiations not knowing but that some terms might possibly be agreed upon by which Saladin would consent to restore Jerusalem to the Christians and thus end the war. The messenger who Saladin employed in these negotiations was Safadin, his brother. Safadin being provided with a safe conduct for this purpose passed back and forth between Jaffa and Saladin's camp carrying the propositions and counter propositions to and fro. Safadin was a very courteous and gentlemanly man and also a very brave soldier and Richard formed quite a strong friendship for him. A number of different plans were proposed in the course of the negotiation but there seemed to arise insuperable objections against them all. At one time either at this period or subsequently when Richard returned again to the coast a project was formed to settle the disputes as quarrels and wars were often settled in those days by a marriage. The plan was for Saladin and Richard to cease their hostility to each other and become friends and allies. The consideration for terminating the war being on Richard's side that he would give his sister Joanna the ex-queen of Sicily in marriage to Safadin and that Saladin on his part should relinquish Jerusalem to Richard. Whether it was that Joanna would not consent to be thus conveyed in a bargain to an Arab chieftain as a part of a price paid for apiece or whether Saladin did not consider her majesty as a full equivalent for the surrender of Jerusalem the plan fell through like all the others that had been proposed and at length the negotiations were fully abandoned and Richard began again to prepare for taking the field. End of chapter 15 chapter 16 of King Richard I. This is a LibriVox recording or LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org King Richard I by Jacob Abbott chapter 16 reverses By this time very serious dissensions and difficulties had arisen in the army of the Crusaders. There were a great many chieftains who felt very independent of each other and feuds and quarrels of long-standing broke out anew and with more violence than ever. There were many different opinions too in respect to the course which it was now best to pursue. Richard however contrived yet to maintain some sort of authority and he finally decided to commence his march from Jaffa. It was now November the fall rains began to set in the distance to Jerusalem was but about 32 miles. The army advanced to Rummela which is about 15 miles from Jaffa but they endured very great hardships and sufferings from the extreme inclemency of the season. The soldiers were wet to the skin by drenching rains. Their provisions were soaked and spoiled and their armor was rusted and much of it rendered useless. When they attempted to pitch their tents at night at Rummela the wind tore them from their fastenings and blew the canvas away so as to deprive them of shelter. Of course these disasters increased the discontent in the army and by making the men impatient and ill-natured increased the bitterness of their quarrels. The army finally advanced however as far as Bethany was a forlorn hope of being strong enough when they should arrive there to attack Jerusalem but this hope when the time came Richard was obliged to abandon. The rain and exposure had brought a great deal of disease into the camp. The men were dying in great numbers. This mortality was increased by famine for the stores which the army had brought with them were spoiled by the raid and Sulladin had so laid waste the country that no fresh supplies could be obtained. Then in addition to this the soldiers finding their sufferings intolerable and seeing no hope of relief began to desert in great numbers and Richard finally found that there is no alternative for him but to fall back again to the seashore. Instead of going to Jaffa however he proceeded to Ascalon. Ascalon was a larger and stronger city than Jaffa. At least it had been stronger and its fortifications were more extensive though the place had been dismantled by Sulladin before he left the coast. This town as you'll see by the map is situated towards the southern part of Palestine near to the confines of Egypt and it had been a place of importance as a sort of entropo of commerce between Egypt and the Holyland. Richard began to think that it would be necessary for him to establish his army somewhat permanently in the strong places on the coast and wait until he could obtain reinforcements from Europe before attempting again to advance towards Jerusalem. He thought it important therefore to take possession of Ascalon and thus Acre and Jaffa being already strongly garrisoned. The whole coast would be secure under his control. Accordingly on his retreat from Jerusalem he proceeded with a large portion of his army to Ascalon and immediately commenced the work of repairing the walls and rebuilding the towers not knowing how soon Sulladin might be upon him. Indeed Sulladin and his troops had followed Richard's army on their retreat from Bethany and had pressed them very closely all the way. It was at one time quite doubtful whether they would succeed in making good their retreat to Ascalon. The Saracen horsemen hovered in great numbers on the rear of Richard's army and made incessant skirmishing attacks upon them. Richard placed a strong body of knights of St John there to keep them off. These knights were well armed and they were brave and well trained warriors. They beat back the Saracens whenever they came near. Still many of the knights were killed and straggling parties from time to time were cut off and the whole army was kept in a constant state of suspense and excitement during the whole march by the continual danger of an attack. When at length they approached the seashore and turned to the south on the way to Ascalon they were a little more safe for the sea defended them on one side. Still the Saracens turned with them and hovered about their left flank which was the one that was turned towards the land and harassed the march all the way. The progress of the troops was greatly retired too as well as made more fatiguing by the presence of such an enemy for they were not only obliged to move more slowly when they were advancing but they could only halt at night in places which were naturally strong and easily to be defended for fear of an assault upon their encampment in the night. During the night too notwithstanding all the precautions they could take to secure a strong and safe position the men were continually roused from their slumbers by an alarm that the Saracens were coming upon them when they would rush from their tents and seize their arms and prepare for combat and then after a time they would learn that the expected attack was only a faint made by a small body of the enemy just to harass them. It might seem at first view that such a warfare as this would weary and exhaust the pursuers as much as the pursued but in reality it is not so in the case of a night alarm for instance the whole camp of the crusaders would be aroused from their sleep by it and kept in a state of suspense for an hour or more before the truth could be fully ascertained while to give the alarm would require only a very small party from the army of the Saracens the main body retiring as usual to sleep and sleeping all night understood. At length Richard reached Ascalon in safety and posted himself within the walls while Siladin established his camp at a safe distance in the interior of the country. Of course the first thing which he found was to be done as has already been remarked was to repair and strengthen the walls and it was evident that no time was to be lost in accomplishing this work but unfortunately the character of the materials of which Richard's army was composed was not such as to favour any special efficiency in conducting and engineering operation. All the nights and a large proportion of the common soldiers deemed themselves gentlemen they had volunteered to join the crusade from the high and romantic nations of chivalry and religion. They were perfectly ready at any time to fight the Saracens and to kill or be killed which ever fate the fortune of war might assign them but to bear burdens to mix mortar and to build walls were occupations far beneath them and the only way to induce them to take hold of this work seems to have been for the nights and officers to set them the example thus in repairing the walls of Acre all the highest officers of the army which Richard himself at the head of them took hold of the work with their own hands and built away on the walls and towers like so many masons. Of course the body of the soldiery had no excuse for declining the work when even the king did not consider himself demeaned by it and the whole army joined in making the reparations with great zeal but such kind of zeal as this is not often very enduring the men had accomplished this work very well at Acre but now in undertaking a second operation of the kind their ardor was found to be somewhat subsided besides they were discouraged and disheartened in some degree by the results of the fruitless campaign they had made into the interior and worn down by the fatigues they had endured on their march still the knights and nobles generally followed Richard's example and worked upon the walls to encourage the soldiery one however absolutely refused this was Leopold the Archduke of Austria whose flag Richard had pulled down from one of the towers in Acre and trampled upon it as it lay on the ground the Archduke had never forgiven this insult indeed this rudeness on the part of Richard was not a solitary instance of his enmity it was only a new step taken in an old quarrel Richard and the Duke had been on very ill terms before the reader will perhaps recollect that when Richard was at Cyprus he made captive a young princess the daughter of the king and that he had made a present of her as a handmaid and companion to Queen Beringaria Beringaria and Joanna when they left Cyprus brought the young princess with them and when they were established with the king in the Palace of Acre she remained with them she was treated kindly it is true and was made a member of the family but still she was a prisoner such captives were greatly prized in those days as presents for ladies of high rank who kept them as pets just as they would at the present day a beautiful canary bird or a favourite pony they often made intimate and familiar companions of them and dressed them with great elegance and surrounded them with every luxury still notwithstanding this gilding of their chains the poor captives usually pined away their lives in sorrow mourning continually to be restored to their father and mother and to their own proper home now it happened that the Archduke of Austria was a relative by marriage of the king of Cyprus and the princess was his niece consequently when she arrived at the camp before Acre as a captive in the hands of the Queen as might naturally have been expected he took a great interest in her case he wished to have her released and restored to her father and he interceded with Richard on her behalf but Richard would not release her he was not willing to take her away from Beringaria the Archduke was angry with the king for this refusal and a quarrel ensued and it was partly in consequence of this quarrel or rather of the exasperation of the mine that was produced by it that Richard would not allow the Archduke's banner to float from the towers of Acre when the city fell into their hands the Archduke felt very keenly the indignity which Richard thus offered him and though at the time he had no power to avenge it he remembered it and remained long in a gloomy and resentful frame of mind and now while Richard was endeavouring to encourage and stimulate the soldiers to work on the walls by inducing the knights and barons to join him in setting the example Leopold refused he said that he was neither the son of a carpenter nor of a mason that he should go to work like a labourer to build walls Richard was enraged at this answer and as the story goes fluidly appalled in his passion and struck and kicked him he also immediately turned the Archduke and all his vassals out of the town declaring that they should not share the protection of the walls that they would not help to build so they were obliged to encamp without in company with that portion of the army that could not be accommodated within the walls but notwithstanding the bad example set thus by the Archduke far the greater portion of the knights and barons and high officers of the army joined very heartily in the work of building the walls even the bishops and abbots and other monks as well as the military nobles took hold of the work with great zeal and the repairs went on much more rapidly than could have been expected during all this time the army kept their communications open with the other towns along the coast with jaffa and ochre and other strongholds so that at length the whole shore was well fortified and secure in their possession Saladin during this time had distributed his troops in various encampments along the line parallel with the coast and at some distance from it and for some weeks the two armies remained in a great degree quiet in their several positions the crusaders were too much diminished in numbers by the privations and the sickness which they had undergone as well as by the losses they had suffered in battle and too much weakened by their internal dissensions to go out of their strongholds to attack Saladin while on the other hand they were too well protected by the walls of the towns to which they had retreated for Saladin to attack them both sides were waiting for reinforcements Saladin was indeed continually receiving accessions to his army from the interior and Richard was expecting them from Europe he sent to a distinguished ecclesiastic named the avatar of Clairvaux who had a higher reputation in Europe and enjoyed great influence at many of the principal courts in his letter to the abbot he requested him to visit the different courts and urge upon the princes and the people of different countries the necessity that they should come to the rescue of the christian cause in the holy land unless they were willing he said that all hope of regaining possession of the holy land should be abandoned they must come with larger reinforcements and that too without delay during the period of delay occasioned by these circumstances there was a sort of truce established between the two armies and the knights on each side mingled together frequently on very friendly terms indeed it was the pride and glory of the soldiers in this chivalrous age to treat each other when not in actual conflict in a very polite and courteous manner as if they were not animated by any personal resentment against their enemies but only by a spirit of fidelity to the prince who commanded them or to the cause in which they are engaged accordingly when for any reason the war was for a time suspended the combatants became immediately the best friends in the world and actually vied with each other to see which should have inst the most generous courtesy towards their opponents on the present occasion they often made visits to each other and they arranged tournaments and other military celebrations which are attended by the knights and chieftains on both sides richard and sulladin often sent each other handsome presence at one time when richard was sick sulladin sent him a quantity of delicious fruit from Damascus the Damascus gardens have been renowned in every age for the peaches pears figs and other fruit which they produce and especially for a peculiar plum famous through all the east sulladin sent a supplier this fruit to richard when he heard that he was sick and accompanied his present with very earnest and perhaps very sincere inquiries in respect to the condition of the patient an expression of his wishes for his recovery the disposition of the two commanders to live on friendly terms with each other at this time was increased by the hope which richard entertained that he might by some possibility come to an amicable agreement with sulladin in respect to Jerusalem and thus bring the war to an end he was beginning to be thoroughly discontented with his situation and with everything pertaining to the war nothing since the first capture of acre had really gone well his army had been repulsed in its attempt to advance into the interior and was now hemmed in by the enemy on every side and shut up in a few towns on the sea coast the men under his command had been greatly diminished in numbers and though sheltered from the enemy the force that remained was gradually wasting away from the effects of exposure to the climate and from fatigue there was no prospect of any immediate reinforcements arriving from europe and no hope without them of being able to take the field successfully against sulladin beside all this richard was very uneasy in respect to the state of his affairs in his own dominions in england and in normandy he distrusted the promises that philip had made and was very anxious lest he might when he arrived in france take advantage of richards absence and under some pretext or other invade some of his provinces from england he was continually receiving very unfavorable tidings his mother elonora to whom he had committed some general oversight of his interests during his absence was beginning to write him alarming letters in respect to certain intrigues which were going on in england and which threatened to deprive him of his english kingdom all together she urged him to return as soon as possible richard was exceedingly anxious to comply with this recommendation but he could not abandon his army in the condition in which it then was nor could he honorably withdraw it without having previously come to some agreement with sulladin by which the holy sepulchre could be secured to the possession of the christians this being the state of the case he had every motive for pressing the negotiations and for cultivating while they were in progress the most friendly relations possible with sulladin and for persevering in pressing them as long as the least possible hope remained accordingly during all this time richard treated sulladin with the greatest courtesy he sent him many presents and paid him many polite attentions all this display of urbanity towards each other on the part of these ferocious and bloodthirsty men has been actually attributed by mankind to the instinctive nobleness and generosity of the spirit of chivalry but in reality as indeed too often the case with the pretended nobleness and generosity of rude and violent men a cunning and far-seeing selfishness lay at the bottom of it in the course of these negotiations richard declared to sulladin that all which the christians desired was the possession of Jerusalem and the restoration of the true cross and he said that surely some terms could be devised on which sulladin could concede those two points but sulladin replied that Jerusalem was a sacred place in the eyes of muslims and as dear to them as it was to the christians and that they could on no account give it up in respect to the true cross the christians he said if they could obtain it would worship it in an idolatrous manner as they did their other relics and as the law of the prophet in the Quran forbade idolatry they could not conscientiously give it up by doing so he said we should be accessories to the sin it was in consequence of the insuperable objections which arose against an absolute surrender of Jerusalem to the christians that the negotiations took the turn which led to the proposal of a marriage between ex-queen Joanna and sulladin for when Richard found that no treaty was possible that would give him full possession of Jerusalem and the letters which he received from england made more and more urgent the necessity that he should return he conceived the plan of a sort of joint occupancy of the holy city by muslims and christians together this was to be affected by means of the proposed marriage the marriage was to be the token and a pledge of surrendering on both sides of the bitter fanaticism which had hitherto animated them and of their determination henceforth to live in peace notwithstanding their religious differences if this state of feeling could be once established there would be no difficulty it was thought in arranging some sort of mixed government for Jerusalem that would secure access to the holy places by both muslims and christians and accomplish the ends of the war to the satisfaction of all it was said that Richard proposed this plan and that both sulladin and sulladin evenced a willingness to accede to it but that it was defeated by the influence of the priests on both sides the imams amongst the muslims and the bishops and monks in Richard's army were equally shocked at this plan of making a compromise of principle as they considered it and forming a compact between good and evil the men of each party devoutly believed that the cause which their side espoused was the cause of god and that that of the other was the cause of satan and neither could tolerate for a moment any proposal for a union or alliance of any kind between elements so utterly antagonistical and it was in vain as both commanders knew for well to attempt to carry such an arrangement into effect against the conviction of the priests for they had on both sides so great an influence over the masses of the people that without their approval or at least their acquiescence nothing could be done so the plan of the alliance and union between the christians and the muhammadians with a view to joint occupancy and guardianship of the holy places in Jerusalem was finally abandoned and Joanna gave up the hope or was released from the fear as the case may have been of having a Saracen for a husband end of chapter 16 chapter 17 of King Richard the First this is a LibriVox recording or LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org King Richard the First by Jacob Abbott chapter 17 the old man of the mountains one of the greatest sources of trouble and difficulty which Richard experienced in managing his heterogeneous mass of followers was the quarrel which has already been alluded to between the two knights who claimed the right to be the king of Jerusalem whenever possession of that city should by any means be obtained the reader will recollect perhaps that he has already been stated that a very renowned crusader named Jeffrey of Bullion had penetrated about a hundred years before this time into the interior of the holy land at the head of a large army and there had taken possession of Jerusalem that the earls and barons and other prominent knights in his army had chosen him king of the city and fixed the crown and the royal title upon him and his descendants forever that Jerusalem was itself after a time lost the title still remained in Godre's family and that it descended to a princess named Sebelah that a knight named Guy of Lucian married Sebelah and then claimed the title of king of Jerusalem in the right of his wife that in process of time Sebelah died and then one party claimed that the rights of her husband Guy of Lucian ceased since he held him only through his wife and that thence forward the title and the crown vested in Isabella her sister who was the next heir that Isabella however was married to a man who was too feeble and timid to assert his claims that consequently a more bold and unscrupulous knight named Conrad of Montferrat seized her and carried her off and afterward procured a divorce for her from her former husband and married her himself and that then a great quarrel arose between Guy of Lucian and the husband of Sebelah and Conrad of Montferrat the husband of Isabella this quarrel had now been raging a long time and all attempts to settle it or to compromise it had proved wholly unavailing the ground to which Guy and his friends and adherents took was that while they admitted that Guy held the title of king of Jerusalem in the right of his wife and that his wife was now dead still being once invested with the crown it was his for life and he could not justly be deprived of it after his death it might descend very properly to the next heir but during his lifetime it vested in him Conrad on the other hand and the friends and adherents who espoused his case argued that since Guy had no claim whatever except what came in and through his wife of course when his wife died his possession ought to terminate if Sebelah had had children the crown would have descended to one of them but she being without direct heirs it passed a right to Isabella his sister and that Isabella's husband was entitled to claim and take possession of it in her name it is obvious that this was a very nice and delicate question and it would have been a very difficult one for a company of gay and reckless soldiers like the crusaders to settle if they had attempted to look at it simply as a question of law and right but the crusaders seldom troubled themselves with examining legal arguments and still less with seeking for and applying principles of justice and right in taking sides in the contests that arose among them the question for each man to consider in such cases was simply which side is it most for my interests and those of my party that we should espouse we would take that or which side are my rivals and enemies or those of their party going to take we will take the other it was such considerations as these that the different princes and nobles and orders of knights in the army decided how they would range themselves on this great question as has already been explained Richard took up the cause of Guy who claimed through the deceased Cibilla he had been induced to do so not by any convictions which he had formed in respect to the merits of the case but because Guy had come to him while he was in Cyprus and had made such proposals there in respect to a conjunction with him that Richard deemed it for his interest to accept them in a similar way Conrad had waited upon Philip as soon as he arrived before Acre and had induced him to espouse his Conrad's side if there were two orders of knights in the army or two bodies of soldiery that were at ill will with each other through rivalry or jealousy or former quarrels they would always separate on this question of the king of Jerusalem and just as certainly as one of them showed a disposition to take the side of Guy the other would immediately go over to that of Conrad and then these old and half smothered contentions would break out anew thus this difficulty was not only a serious quarrel in itself but it was a means of reviving and giving new force and intensity to a vast number of other quarrels may seem strange that a question like this which related as it would appear to only an empty title should have been deemed so important but in reality there was something more than the mere title at issue although for the time being the Christians were excluded from Jerusalem they were all continually hoping to be very soon restored to the possession of it and then the king of the city would become a very important personage not only in his own estimation and in that of the army of the crusaders but in that of all Christendom no one knew but that in a few months Jerusalem might come into their hands either by being retaken through force of arms or by exceeded in some way through Richard's negotiations with Soledin and of course the greater the probability was that this event would happen the more important the issue of the quarrel became and the more angry with each other and excited were the parties to it thus Richard found that all his plans for getting possession of Jerusalem were grievously impeded by these dissensions for the nearer he came at any time to the realization of his hopes the more completely were his efforts to secure the end paralyzed by the increased violence and bitterness of the quarrel that reigned amongst his followers the principal supporters of the cause of Conrad were the French and they formed so numerous and powerful a portion of the army and they had with all so great an influence over other bodies of troops from different parts of Europe that Richard could not successfully resist them and maintain Guy's claims and he finally concluded to give up or to pretend to give up the contest so he made an arrangement with Guy to relinquish his claims on the condition of his receiving the king of Cyprus instead the unhappy Isaac the true king of that island shut up in the Syrian dungeon to which Richard had consigned him being on no condition to resist this disposition of his dominions Richard then agreed that Conrad should be acknowledged as king of Jerusalem and to seal and settle the question it was determined that he should be crowned forthwith it was supposed at the time that one reason which induced Richard to give up Guy and adopt Conrad as the future sovereign of the Holy City was that Conrad was a far more able warrior and a far more influential and powerful man than Guy and altogether a more suitable person to be left in command of the army in case of Richard's return to England provided in the meantime Jerusalem should be taken and moreover he was much more likely to succeed as a leader of the troops in a march against the city in case Richard were to leave before the conquest should be affected it turned out however in the end as will be seen in the sequel that the views with which Richard adopted this plan were of a very different character Conrad was already the king of Tyre the position which he thus held was in fact one of the elements of his power and influence amongst the crusaders it was determined that his coronation as king of Jerusalem should take place at Tyre and accordingly as soon as the arrangement of the question had been fully and finally agreed upon all parties proceeded to Tyre and there commenced at once the preparations for a magnificent coronation all the principal chieftains and dignitaries of the army that could be spared from the other posts along the coast went to Tyre to be present at the coronation the whole army with the exception of a few malcontents being filled with joy and satisfaction that the question which had so long distracted their councils and paralyzed their efforts was now at length finally disposed of these bright prospects were all however suddenly blighted and destroyed by an unexpected event which struck everyone with consternation and put all things back into a worse condition than before as Conrad was passing along the streets of Tyre one day two men rushed upon him and with small daggers which they plunged into his side slew him they were so sudden in their movement that all was over before anyone could come to Conrad's rescue but the men who committed the deed were seized and put to torture they belonged to a tribe of Arabs called the Hassasans this appellation was taken from the Arabic name of the dagger which was the only armor that they wore of course with such a weapon as this they could do nothing effectual in a regular battle with their enemies nor was this their plan they never came out and met their enemies in battle they lived among the mountains in a place by themselves under the command of a famous chieftain whom they called the ancient and sometimes the lord of the mountains the Christians called him the old man of the mountains and under this name he and his band of followers acquired great fame they were in fact not much more than a regularly organized band of robbers and murderers the men were extremely wily and adroit they could adopt any disguise and penetrate without suspicion wherever they chose to go they were trained to to obey in the most unhesitating and implicit manner any orders whatever that the chieftain gave them sometimes they were sent out to rob sometimes to murder an individual enemy who had in some way or other excited the anger of the chief thus if any leader of an armed force attempted to attack them or if any officer of government adopted any measures to bring them to justice they would not openly resist but would fly to their dens and fastnesses and conceal themselves there and then soon afterward the chieftain would send out his emissaries dressed in a suitable disguise and with their little assassins under their robes to watch an opportunity and kill the offender it is true that they were usually in such cases at once seized and were often put to death with horrible torches but so great was their enthusiasm in the cause of their chief and so high the exaltation of spirit to which the point of honor carried them that they feared nothing and were never known to shrink from the discharge of what they deemed their duty the stabs which the two assassins gave to Conrad were so effectual that he fell dead upon the spot the people that were near rushed to his assistance and while some gathered around the bleeding body and endeavored to staunch the wounds others seized the murderers and bore them off to the castle they would have pulled them to pieces by the way if they had not desired to reserve them for torture the torture is of course in every respect a wretched way of eliciting evidence so far as it is efficacious at all in eliciting declarations it tends to lead the sufferer in thinking what he shall say to consider not what is the truth but what is the most likely to satisfy his tormentors and make them release him accordingly men on the torture say anything which they suppose their question is wish to hear at one moment it is one thing and the next it is another and the men who conduct the examination can usually report from it any result they please a story gained great credit in the army and especially among the French portion of it immediately after the examination of these men that they said that they had been hired by Richard himself to kill Conrad and this story produced everywhere the greatest excitement and indignation on the other hand the friends of Richard declared that the assassins had stated that they were sent by their chieftain the old man of the mountain and that the cause was a quarrel that had long been standing between Conrad and him it is true that there had been such a quarrel and consequently that the old man would be doubtless very willing that Conrad should be killed indeed it is probable that if Richard was really the original instigator of the murder he would have made the arrangement for it with the old man and not directly with the subordinates it was in fact a part of the regular and settled business of this tribe to commit murders for pay the chieftain might have the more readily undertaken this case from having already a quarrel of his own with Conrad on hand it was never fully ascertained what the true state of the case was the Arab historians maintain that it was Richard's work the English writers on the contrary throw the blame on the old man the English writers maintain more over that the deed was one which such a man as Richard was very little likely to perform he was it is true they say a very rude and violent man daring reckless and often unjust and even cruel but he was not treacherous what he did he did in the open day and he was wholly incapable of such a deed as pretending deceitfully that he would exceed to Conrad's claims with a view of throwing him off his guard and then putting him to death by means of hired murderers this reasoning will seem satisfactory to us or otherwise according to the views we like to entertain in respect to the genuineness of the sense of generosity and honor which is so much boasted of as a characteristic of the spirit of chivalry some persons place great reliance upon it and think that so gallant and courageous a knight as Richard must have been incapable of any such deed as a secret assassination others place very little reliance upon it they think that the generosity and nobleness of mind to which this class of men make such great pretension is chiefly a matter of outside show and parade and that when it serves their purpose they are generally ready to resort to any covert and dishonest means which will help them accomplish their ends however truly dishonorable such means may be provided they can conceal their agency in them for my part I am strongly inclined to the latter opinion and to believe that there is nothing in the human heart that we can really rely upon in respect to human conduct and character but sound and consistent moral principle at any rate it is unfortunate for Richard's cause that among those who were around him at the time and who knew his character best the prevailing opinion was against him it was generally believed in the army that he was really the secret author of Conrad's death the event produced a prodigious excitement through the camp when the news reached Europe it awakened a very general indignation there especially among those who were inclined to be hostile to Richard Philip the king of France professed to be alarmed for his own safety he is employed murderers to kill Conrad my friend and ally he said and the next thing will be that he will send some of the old man of the mountains emissaries to thrust their daggers into me so he organised an extra guard to watch the gates of his palace and to attend him whenever he went out and gave them special instructions to watch against the approach of any suspicious strangers the emperor of Germany too and the archduke of Austria whom Richard had before made his enemies were filled with rage and resentment against him the effects of which he subsequently felt very severely in the meantime the excitement in the camp immediately on the death of Conrad became very strong and it led to serious disturbances the French troops rose in arms and attempted to seize Tyre Isabella Conrad's wife in whose name Conrad had held the title to the crown of Jerusalem fled to the citadel and fortified herself there with such troops as it here to her the camp was in confusion and there was imminent danger that the two parties into which the army was divided would come to open war at this juncture a certain nephew of Richard's Count Henry of Champagne made his appearance he persuaded the people of Tyre to put him in command of the town and supported as he was by Richard's influence and by the acquiescence of Isabella he succeeded in restoring something like order immediately afterward he proposed to Isabella that she should marry him she accepted his proposal and so he became king of Jerusalem in her name the French party and those who had taken the side of Conrad in the former quarrel were greatly exasperated but as the case now stood they were helpless they had always maintained that Isabella was the true sovereign and it was through her right to succession after Sibylla's death that they had claimed the crown for Conrad and now since Conrad was dead and Isabella had married Count Henry they could not with any consistency deny that the new husband was fully entitled to succeed the old they might resent the murder of Conrad as much as they pleased but it was evident that nothing would bring him back to life and nothing could prevent Count Henry being now universally regarded as the king of Jerusalem so after vending for a time a great many loud but fruitful complaints the grieved parties allowed their resentment to subside and all acquiesced in acknowledging Henry as king of Jerusalem besides these difficulties a great deal of uneasiness and discontent arose from rumors that Richard was intending to abandon Palestine and return to Normandy and England thus leaving the army without a responsible head the troops knew very well that what a resemblance of authority and subordination then existed was due to the presence of Richard whose high rank and personal qualities as a warrior gave him great power over his followers notwithstanding their many causes of complaint against him they knew too that his departure would be the signal of universal disorder and would lead to the total dissolution of the army the complaints and clamour which arose from this cause became so great in all the different towns and fortresses along the coast that to appease him Richard issued a proclamation stating that he had no intention of leaving the army but that it was his fixed purpose to remain in Palestine at least another year end of chapter 17