Roger
of Hoveden:
The
Fall of Jerusalem, 1187
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hoveden
provided a political narrative explaining the loss of Jerusalem to Saladin in
1187
1186
In
the same year, Constance, the countess of Brittany, daughter of earl Conan,
whom Geoffrey, earl of Brittany, her husband, had left pregnant at the time of
his decease, was delivered of her eldest son on the holy night of Easter, and
his name was called Arthur. . In the same year, Baldwin, the boy-kin- of
Jerusalem, son of William le Marchis, departed this life, and was succeeded in
the kingdom by his mother Sibylla, by hereditary right; but before she was
crowned, a divorce was effected between her and Guido de Lusignan, her husband,
by the Patriarch Heraclius and the Templars and Hospitallers, who wished her to
marry Walran, earl of Tripolis, or some nobleman of the principal people of the
land of Jerusalem; she, however, by a wonderful piece of cunning, deceived
them, saying: " If a divorce takes place between me and my husband, I wish
you to make me sure, by your promises and oaths, that whomsoever I shall make
choice of you will choose for your head and lord."
Accordingly,
after they had go done, they led her into the Temple, and the before-named-
Patriarch crowned her; shortly after which, when all were offering up their
prayers that God the Lord Almighty would provide a fitting king for that land,
the before-named queen took the royal crown in her hands, and placed it on the
head of Guido de Lusignan her husband, saying, " I make choice of thee as
king, and as my lord, and as lord. of the land of Jerusalem, for those whom God
hath joined together, let not man put asunder."
At
these words all stood in amazement, but on account of the oath which they had
made, no one dared oppose her, and the Patriarch, approaching, anointed him
king; and then, Divine service having been celebrated, the Templars escorted
the king and queen to their abode, and provided for them a sumptuous
entertainment. The earl of Tripolis, however, vexed and sorrowful that the
queen had rejected him, went to Saladin, king of Babylon, and, entering into an
alliance with him, devised many evils for the destruction of the king and
queen. Saladin, however, requested that the truce before-mentioned, which he
had made until the ensuing Easter, should be prolonged for the three years next
ensuing; to which proposition king Guido, by the advice of the Templars,
assented, although it was evident to him that there would shortly come a vast
number of pilgrims, both from England and other kingdoms, in consequence of the
preaching of the Patriarch. Accordingly, after Easter, there came to Jerusalem
an immense multitude of men-at-arms and other pilgrims; but as the truce had
been prolonged, -very few of them chose to remain. However, Roger de Mowbray
and Hugh de Beauchamp remained there in the service of God.
……
1187
In
the same year, Saladin, king of Babylon, with an immense multitude of his
Turks, on pretext of the disunion which existed between the king and the earl
of Tripolis, entered the land of Jerusalem; on which the brethren of the Temple
and of the Hospital went forth against him with a great multitude of people,
and on an engagement taking place between them, the army of the Pagans
prevailed against the Christians, on which the latter betook themselves to
flight, and many of them were slain and many taken prisoners. On the same day
also, being the calends of May, sixty brethren of the Temple, and the Grand
Master of the Hospital, together with sixty brethren of his house, were slain.
Saladin,
on gaining this great victory, attacked and took a considerable number of the
castles, cities, and fortresses of the Christians; after which, returning to
his own country, he levied a great army, and, by the advice, it is said, of the
earl of Tripolis, who was an enemy to the king entered the territory of
Jerusalem, on the Friday after the feast of the Apostles Saint Peter and Saint
Paul, with eight hundred thousand men or more; on which he took Tiberias, with
the exception of the keep of the castle, to which place the lady of the castle
had retreated, together with a few knights. On king Guido being informed of
this, by the advice of the earl of Tripolis, who had lately, with fraudulent
intent, entered into a treaty of peace, the king proceeded one day's march
towards Tiberias, when the earl of Tripolis, who was the leader and guide in
the march, halted the whole army on an elevated and craggy -pot. Being there
threatened with an attack of the enemy on every side, the king, urged by
necessity, and compelled by the advice of his barons, thought proper to engage,
and, at their entreaty, gave the honor of striking the first blow to the Master
and knights of the Temple.
Upon
this, the brotherhood of the Temple, rushing upon the foe with the bravery of
lions, put some to the sword, and forced others to take to flight. The rest,
however, neglecting the king's commands, did not join the battle, or give them
any succour whatever; in consequence of which, the knights of the Temple were
hemmed in and slaughtered. After this, the troops of Saladin surrounded the
army of the Christians, worn out with the fatigues of the march, exhausted by
the intense beat of the climate, and utterly destitute of water,- and, in a
great measure, of food as well. At this conjunction, six of the king's knights,
namely, Baldwin de Fortune, Raymond Buck, and Laodicius de Tiberias, with three
companions, being seized with a diabolical spirit, fled to Saladin, and spontaneously
became Saracens, informing him of every particular as to the present state,
intentions, and resources of the Christians. On this, Saladin, who before was
in anxious doubt as to the result of the warfare, took courage, and with
trumpets sounding, made an attack with an infinite multitude of warriors on the
Christians, who, in consequence of the rocky and inaccessible nature of the
spot, were unable to fight ; and so, assailing them with every possible method
of attack, he utterly routed the Christians. At last, Thekedin, the nephew of
Saladiia, took Guido, king of Jerusalem, while flying, and the wood of the
Cross of our Lord, after slaying Rufinus, bishop of Acre, who was carrying it.
And this was done through the righteous judgment of God; for, contrary to the
usage of his predecessors, having greater faith in worldly arms than in
heavenly ones, he went forth to battle equipped in a coat, of mail, and shortly
after he perished, being pierced by an arrow. Nearly all the others, being
utterly routed, were taken prisoners and either slain or loaded with chains,
the Persians, oh, great disgrace' remaining masters of the camp.
The
earl of Tripolis alone, who was the designer of this treachery, escaped with
his men unhurt. Immediately after the battle, Saladin ordered the knights of
the Temple and of the Hospital to be separated from the rest, and to be
decapitated in his presence, he himself with his own hand slaying Raymond. de
Castiglione, their chief. After this he took the city of Acre and the places adjacent,
with nearly all the fortified spots in those parts.
In
the meantime, Conrad le Marchis, brother of the above mentioned William, earl
of Joppa, having been guilty of murder in the city of Constantinople, took to
flight, deserting his wife, the niece of Isaac, emperor of Constantinople; and
on the very same day on which Saladin gained this victory over the Christians,
Conrad came to Tyre and found it deserted, for nearly all the citizens of the
place were slain in the before mentioned battle. On Saladin coming thither,
expecting to have free ingress, Conrad offered a stout resistance, and refused
him permission to enter; on which, Saladin, seeing that he could effect nothing
by staying there, took his departure, and captured the city of Beyrout, and
both the cities which are called Gibelet, with Sidon, and the cityof Caesarea,
as also Joppa, Saint George, Saint Abraham, Bethlehem, the New Castle of
Caiaphas, Saphet, Jaunay, Mount Tabor, Faba, and Caffarmundel, the Cave of the
Temple, Calenzun, Marle of the Temple, the Castle on the Plain, Ramah, Bethurun
of the Knights, Castle Arnald, Castle Bourgoing, Tarentum, Blanchewarde,
Galatia, Gasseres, Darun, [*A great portion of these names are most probably
incorrect] Rouge Cisterne, the Castle of Saint Peter, Saint Lazarus of Bethany,
Saint Mary-of Mount Sion, and the City of Jerusalem.
On
this, the queen, the wife of Guido, betook herself, with her two daughters and
her household, to the city of Ascalon, and fortified it with provisions and
soldiers; these, however, in the second year after, she surrendered to Saladin
for the ransom of her. husband Guido, and thus liberated him from the custody
of Saladin. All those, however, who had fled to Acre, and a multitude of
Christians who had taken to flight, betook themselves to Tyre, and made Conrad
their ruler and protector; Antioch also, and Margat, with nearly all the lands
of the prince thereof, stoutly fortified themselves against Saladin.
While
the earl of Tripolis was endeavouring to wean his nation from the worship of
God, and to betray his country to Saladin, he was found dead in his bed just as
though fast asleep; on which his wife, with all her people, surrendered herself
and the city of Tripolis to Raymond, prince of Antioch, and he appointed his son
Jocelyn lord thereof.
Now
when pope Urban heard that in his time the king of Jerusalem had been taken
prisoner, as also the Cross of our Lord, and the Holy City of Jerusalem, he was
greatly afflicted, and fell ill and died on the thirteenth day before the
kalends of November, at Ferrara; being succeeded in the papacy by Albert his
chancellor, who was called pope Gregory the Eighth. On this, the cardinals,
with the sanction of our lord the pope, strictly pledged themselves to each
other, disregarding all wealth and luxuries, to preach the cross of Christ, and
that not in word only but by deed and example, and to be the first, assuming
the cross, to go begging for succours, and to precede the rest to the land of
Jerusalem. They also, with the consent of our lord the pope, established a most
strict truce between all the princes of Christendom, to last for a period of
seven years; on the understanding that whoever in the meantime should commence
war against a Christian, should be subject to the curse of God, and of our lord
the pope, and the excommunication of all the prelates of the Universal Church.
They also solemnly promised each other, that from thenceforth they would
receive presents from no one who had a cause to try in the court, but would
only receive as much as should be given, or sent to supply their necessities
and for their sustenance -, as also that they would not mount a horse so long
as the land on which the feet of the Lord had stood should remain under the
feet of the enemy.
It
is also worthy of observation, and to be ascribed to the Divine Providence,
that at the time when the city of Jerusalem and Antioch had been rescued from
the power of the Pagans, on the expedition headed by Audemar, bishop of Puy,
and many other bishops and religious men, as also Hugh, brother of Philip, king
of France, Godfrey, duke of Lorraine, Stephen, count of Chartres, Robert, duke
of Normandy, brother of William the Second, the king of England, then reigning,
(which Robert conquered in battle, Colbrand, the chief of the knighthood of the
Pagans), Robert, earl of Flanders, Eustace, earl of Boulogne, and Baldwin, the
two brothers of duke Godfrey, Raymond, earl of Saint Gilles, Boamund, son of
Robert Guiscard, and many other noblemen, the pope who was then living was
named Urban, the Patriarch of Jerusalem was called Heraclius, and the emperor
of Rome was called Frederic; and so now, when the land of Jerusalem was taken
from the hands of the Christians by the people of Saladin, the pope was called
Urban, the patriarch of Jerusalem Heraclius, and. the Roman emperor Frederic.
It also deserves to be known, that between the time when Jerusalem was rescued
from the hands of the Pagans by the warriors before-named; and the time when
king Guido was deprived of it, a space of eighty- seven years intervened.
Hoveden
includes in his account a letter by the Master of the Temple explaining the
loss.
The
Letter of Terricius, Master of the, Temple, on the
Capture
of the Land of Jerusalem
The
brother Terricius, So called Grand Master of the most impoverished house of the
Temple, and of all the brethren himself the most impoverished, and that
brotherhood all but annihilated, to all commanders and brethren of the Temple
to whom these presents Shall come, greeting, and may they lift up their sighs
to Him at whom the sun and moon are astounded. With how many and how great
calamities, our sins so requiring it, the anger of God has lately permitted us
to be scourged, we are unable, O sad fate! either in writing or in the language
of tears to express. For the Turks, assembling together an immense multitude of
their nations, began with bitter hostility to invade the territories of us
Christians; and accordingly, uniting the forces of our nation against them, we
ventured, before the octave of the Apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul, to
attack them; and for that purpose ventured to direct our march towards
Tiberias, which, leaving their camp unprotected, they had taken by storm. After
repulsing us among some most dangerous rocks, they attacked us with such
vehemence, that after they had captured the Holy Cross and our king, and a
whole multitude of us had been slain, and after two hundred and thirty of our
brethren, as we verily believe, had been taken by them and beheaded, (besides
those sixty who had been slain on the first of May), with great difficulty, the
lord the earl of Tripolis, the lord Reginald of Sidon, the- lord Ballovius, and
ourselves, were enabled to make our escape from that dreadful field. After
this, the Pagans, revelling in the blood of us Christians, did not delay to
press on with all their hosts towards the city of Tyre; and, taking it by
storm, spread themselves over nearly the whole of the land, Jerasalem, 'I'yre,
Ascalon, and Berytus being alone now left to us and to Christendom. These
cities also, as nearly all the citizens have been slain, we shall not be at all
able to retain in our hands, unless we speedily receive the Divine assistance,
and aid from yourselves. For at the present moment they are besieging Tyre with
all their might, and cease not to assault it either night or day, while so vast
are their numbers, that they have covered the whole face of the land from Tyre,
as far as Jerusalem and Gaza, just like swarms of ants. Deign, therefore, with
all possible speed, to bring succour to ourselves and to Christianity, all but
ruined in the East, that so through the aid of God and the exalted merits of
your brotherhood, supported by your assistance, we may be enabled to save the
remainder of those cities. Farewell."
In
response to the loss Pope Gregory VIII called for a new crusade - the Third
Crusade. Hoveden includes two letters of the pope. Only the peoration of the
first, longer, letter is given here. It enumerates the crusade privileges.
Letter
of Pope Gregory VIII
…Wherefore,
to those who with a contrite heart and humble spirit shall undertake the labour
of this expedition, and shall die 'm- repentance for their sins and in the true
faith, we do promise plenary indulgence for their offences, and eternal life. And
whether they shall survive or whether die, they are to know that they will
have, by the mercy of Almighty God and of the authority of the Apostles Saint-
Peter and Saint Paul, and of ourselves, remission of penance imposed for all
sins of which they shall have made due confession. The property also of such
persons, from the time that they shall have assumed the cross, together with
their families, are- to be under the protection of the Holy Church of Rome, and
of the archbishops, bishops, and other prelates of the Church of God, and no
person is to make any claim against the property of which, on assuming the
cross, they were in quite possession, until it is known for certain as to their
return or death, but their property is to remain in the meantime untouched, and
in their quiet possession; they are also not to pay interest to any person, if
they have so bound themselves ; nor yet are they to go in costly apparel, or
with dogs or hawks, which seem rather to minister to ostentation s ; but they ought to be seen
with plain apparel and equipments, by which they may appear rather to be acting
in penitence than affecting an empty pomp. Given at Ferrara, on the fourth day
before the calends of November, in the sixth year of the indiction.
The
Letter of pope Gregory VIII to all the Faithful,
upon
the same subject.
Gregory,
the bishop, servant of the servants of God, to all the faithful in Christ, to
whom these presents shall come, health and the Apostolic benediction. Never is
the wrath of the Supreme Judge more successfully appeased, than when, at His
command, carnal desires are extinguished within us. Wherefore, inasmuch as we
do not doubt that the disasters of the land of Jerusalem, which have lately
happened through the irruption of the Saracens have been expressly caused by
the sins of the inhabitants of the land and of the whole people of Christendom,
we, by the common consent of our brethren-, and with the approval of many of
the bishops, have enacted that all persons shall, for the next five years, on every
sixth day of the week at 'the very least, fast upon Lenten fare, and that,
wherever mass is performed, it shall be chaunted at the ninth hour: and this we
order to be observed from the Advent of our Lord until the Nativity of our
Lord. Also, on the fourth day of the week, and on Saturdays, all persons
without distinction, who are in good health are, to abstain from eating flesh.
We and our brethren do also forbid to ourselves and to our households the use
of flesh on the second day of the week as well, unless it shall so happen that
illness or some great calamity or other evident cause shall seem to prevent the
same; trusting that by re doing God will pardon us and leave His blessing
behind Him. This therefore we do enact to be observer and whosoever shall be
guilty of transgressing the same, is to be considered as a breaker of the fast
in Lent. Given at Ferrara, on the fourth day before the calends of
November."
The
result was the Third Crusade, perhaps the most dramatic in terms of involvement
by kings, emperors and high princes.
Upon
this, the princes of the earth, hearing the mandates of the Supreme Pontiff,
exerted themselves with all their might for the liberation of the land of
Jerusalem; and accordingly,- Frederick the emperor of the Romans, and the
archbishops, bishops, dukes, earls, and barons of his empire, assumed the sign
of the cross. In like manner, after their example, great numbers of the chief
men of all the nations of Christendom prepared to succour the land of
Jerusalem.
From
Roger of Hoveden: The Annals, comprising The History of England and of Other
Countries of Europe from AD 732 to AD 1201., trans. Henry T. Riley, 2 Vols. (London: H.G.
Bohn, 1853; rep. New York AMS, 1968), Vol 2, pp. 62-63, 65-70, 74-75