Enforc'd I was to make my way by land Yet with this duke not long was my abode : the chief of the assassins to the duke of Austria is accordingly produced, completely exculpating Richard, and declaring that Conrad was killed by order of the old man, in consequence of the marquis having robbed and murdered an assassin. Another letter is also produced, addressed to all the princes and people of Christendom; in which, as in the former one, the chief of the assassins assumes to himself all the honour of the murder. There is very little difficulty in proving that these letters were forgeries. The very superscriptions are contrary to the oriental mode. Limpoldo duci Austria Vetus de Monte salutem." "Vetus de Monte Principibus Europæ et omni populo Christiano salutem." The phrase, Vetus de Monte, is a mere Latin translation of the name by which the chief of the assassins was known in Europe. His appellation in Syria was very different, and consequently, the letters were not translated from an Arabic ori 66 Of that false duke that had me fast in hold, Ignoble age, branded with this foul crime, name, Even children shall upbraid thee with the same. In tempest of this trouble long being tost, Note (Y.)-Page 168. Richard's speech is not given by any original writer. M. Paris (145) says that the emperor, as well as the other members of the diet, was convinced of Plantagenet's innocence, and that he treated him thenceforth with humanity. The price of the ransom was then the only question. But it is difficult to understand by what right they could detain him, if his innocence were acknowledged. Bromton tells us, that although Richard had proved that he had not participated in Conrad's murder, yet that, for the perfect conviction of the potentates, he sent to the old man of the mountain for a justification. A letter from for the exculpation of Richard, shows that they Note (Z.)-Page 170. Saladin's humility and generosity were the principal subjects of praise among the people of the west and hence the stories became believed, that he distributed money in charity among the poor of every religious denomination, and that a little while before his death he ordered his standard-bearer, when his funeral should take place, to carry his winding sheet, suspended from a lance, through Damascus, and proclaim, "Be- | notes are as valuable as his notes on the Alexiad. hold all that Saladin, the great conqueror of the Another observer of the wonderful scenes which East, carries with him to the grave." Dante were passing on the world was Nicetas. After mentions Saladin, and gives him a place in the the last siege of Constantinople, in 1204, this division of the lower regions occupied by the Grecian retired to Nice, and wrote the history of greatest and wisest pagan philosophers and poets. his country from the year 1118 to 1218. Of this Dell' Inferno, canto iv. 129. M. Ginguené well lachrymal annalist I have read, and shall refer to observes, that it was a trait of remarkable inde- Wolf's edition, Basil, 1557. The life of Pope pendence in Dante to have dared to place in Innocent III. by a contemporaneous, but anonyElysium this terrible enemy of Christians. mous author. It is prefixed to Baluzius's edition of the letters of his Holiness, and is inserted by Muratori in the third volume of his great collection of Italian historians, p. 486, &c. Some letters or public despatches from Baldwin, count of Flanders, to the Pope, are included in this life and are of great value. We have no Venetian eye-witnesses, but I have gathered some facts both from the Chronicle of Andrew Dandalo, it the twelfth volume of Muratori, and the work of Paolo Ramusio, De Bello Constantinopolitano e, Imperatoribus Comnenis per Gallos et Venetis restitutis. Venet. fol. 1635. The author was secretary to the council of ten, and was ordered by that assembly to write the history of the eventful war between Venice and Greece. Villehardouin's work was his foundation, but the ar chives of the republic enabled him to give a new air and colour to many facts. The work on Gunther, on the subject of the fifth crusade, has been frequently referred to by other writers; but I have not found in this short narrative many things that are not better treated in Villehardouin. The Jesuit Doutreman's history, entitled Constantinopolis Belgica, has not fallen into my hands. I do not regret it, for I am not prejudiced in favour of the biographer of Peter, and I learn from Du Cange, that the Jesuit had not seen the work of Ramusio, or the letters to Pope Innocent III. The following are pleasing instances of Saladin's self-command and love of justice. "As Bohadin, the historian, was one day exercising, at Jerusalem, his office of judge, a decent old merchant tendered him a bill or libel of complaint, which he insisted upon having opened. Who (says Bohadin) is your adversary?' My adversary,' replies the merchant, is the sultan himself; but this is the seat of justice; and we have heard that you (applying to Bohadin) are not governed by regard to persons.' Bohadin told him his cause could not be decided without his adversary being first apprised. The sultan, accordingly, was informed of the affair, he submitted to appear, produced his witnesses, and, having justly defended himself, gained the cause. Yet so little did he resent this treatment, that he dismissed his antagonist with a rich garment and a donation." "At another time Saladin was in company with his intimate friends, enjoying their conversation apart, the crowd being dismissed, when a slave of some rank brought him a petition in behalf of some person oppressed. The sultan said that he was then fatigued, and wished the matter, whatever it was, might for a time be deferred. The other did not attend to what was desired, but, on the contrary, almost thrust the petition into the sultan's face. The sultan, on this, opening and reading it once, declared he thought the petitioner's cause a good one. Let then our sovereign lord,' says the other, sign it.' There is no inkstand,' says the sultan (who being at that time seated at the door of his tent, rendered it impossible for any one to enter). You have one,' replies the petitioner, in the inner part of the tent;' (which meant, as the writer well observes, little less than bidding the prince go and bring it himself.) The sultan, looking back and seeing the inkstand behind him, cries out, "God help me! the man says true; and immediately reached back for it, and signed the instrument."--Bohadin's Life of Saladin, p. 22, p. 10, as translated by Mr. Harris, Philological Inquiries, chap. 6. Note (A a.)--Page 173. Note (B b.) -- Page 205. The count of Champagne published the Crusade in a chanson. He was as serious about the matter as if he had been writing a sermon, for he says, Diex se laissa per nos en crois pener, Canson 55. Poesies du Roi de Na- Thibaud, however, was more of a gallant than a religious man. Just before embarkation at Marseilles he consoles himself by writing a song, or leaving the queen of France or some imagi nary mistress, and puts himself under the pro For the fourth crusade, that of the German lords, our authorities, with the exception of Arnold of Lubeck, were writers whom I have already characterized, and have often quoted. Our materials for the fifth crusade, though few, are valu-tection of the Virgin. able. L'Histoire de la Prise de Constantinople par les Français et les Venetians, écrite par Geoffrey de Villehardouin, maréchal de Champagne, fol. edit. Du Cange. The author was an eye-witness, and his testimony is given with simplicity and tolerable candour. Du Cange's Dame des Ceix, grans roine poissanz, I would give more specimens of the poetry of this count of Champagne, were I not afraid that my readers recollect the expression of Bossuet, that the count of Champagne made verses which he was foolish enough to publish. Note (C c.) — Page 210. THE CRUSADERS. CRUSADER. Thou seest, my friend, of good and ill NON-CRUSADER. I read thee right thou holdest good, CRUSADER. Forth from thy groaning mother's womb, Then sure, NON-CRUSADER. Howbeit, my friend, of folk that toil, I've seen a band of gallants brave, For which thou needs wilt cross the main. On these his plenteous gifts he showers, Note (D d.)-Page 214. M. Paris, 684. The English were alluded to by the count of Artois. The reason for the supposition that they belonged to the caudatory part of mankind, it is difficult to determine. Every one knows that there was a common story in old times, that some of our ancestors, in consequence of having treated disrespectfully St. Augustine the missionary, incurred the punishment of wearing tails; and that the curse was hereditary. The murder of Thomas à Becket was another reason why our forefathers became caudati. Du Cange (Alexiad, book iv., p. 202, n.) thinks that an allusion is here made to their custom of wearing shoes with long extended points, sustained by chains of gold and silver, or silken strings, which were tied to the knee. So old a writer as Malmsbury mentions this foppery. "The ecclesiastics," says Hume," took exception at this ornament, which, they said, was an attempt to belie the Scripture, where it is affirmed, that no man can add a cubit to his stature; and they declaimed against it with great vehemence: nay, assembled some synods, who absolutely condemned it. But, such are the strange contradictions in human nature! though the clergy, at that time, could overturn thrones, and had authority to send above a million of men on their errand to the deserts of Asia, they could never prevail against these long pointed shoes." Hume, History of England, vol. i., p. 302, edit. 8vo. 1783. An act of parliament in the third year of the reign of Edward IV., and a subsequent royal proclamation, prohibited these chains and strings, and declared that the shoes should not extend two inches beyond the foot, under the penalty of twenty shillings. The fashion then ran into a contrary extreme; and, in queen Mary's days, a prohibition was made of shoes' toes more than six inches square. But it is difficult to agree with Du Cange, that the word "caudati" is used in the sense he contends for by the count d'Artois. Long pointed shoes were in fashion in France as well as in England; and in both countries clerical admonition stayed the usual capriciousness of fashion. In a strange mixture of spiritual and trifling matters, a council held at Sens about half a century after the proclamation of Edward IV., condemned Luther and pointed shoes. Du Cange, who, in the course of his inquisitive and learned researches, always sweeps every thing both far and near to his subject, shows that Tertullian and St. Augustine declaimed against long and pointed shoes. Cicero (de Natura Deorum, i. 29) mentions the calcei repandi of Juno, and Ernesti brings instances of coins which prove the fact. On the different effects of clerical preaching and royal counsel against a particular form of dress, the curious reader is referred to Bayle, article Connecte. Note (E e.)-Page 227. In werre that buen war aut wys, Kyng of France! thou hevedust sunne," The messenger to the Pope com The Pope is to chaumbre wende, The Pope of Peyters stod at is masse Ther me con‡‡ the soule blisse; Kyng Edward, honoured thou be; So fain thou woldest hit have ywonne. "Jerusalem, thou hast ilore Now kyng Edward liveth na more, It is said that Robert Bruce, in his dying mo The excessive simplicity of the monument of Edward I., has been supposed to have proceeded from the circumstance that his body was frequently re-embalmed: and such a tomb was favourable to the operation. The king's appointment was never executed. "The monkish Chronicles," says Warton, "impute the crimements, exclaimed that he had formerly made a of withholding so pious a legacy to the advice of the king of France, whose daughter Isabel was married to the succeeding king. But it is more probable that Edward II. and his profligate minion, Piers Gaveston, dissipated the money in their luxurious and expensive pleasures." Warton, History of English Poetry, vol. i., p. 106-103. In an elegy made on the death of Edward I., the writer makes Edward say, "Iche biqueth myn hirte aryht, Over the sea that Hue* be diht, One of his officers. vow that if his wars should end favourably, he 272 a silver casket, and commenced his journey. He That thair lord dede has fundyn there, Note (F f.)-Page 234. Parmi les nombreuses recherches qu'on a faites de nos jours, pour découvrir si les Templiers avaient un secret et quel était ce secret, il a été présenté le système que les Templiers avaient des opinions Gnostico-Manicheennes et que l'idole qu'on les accusait d'adorer était une figure BAFFOMETIQUE, mot difficile ou peut-être impossible à expliquer. Une observation très simple suffira pour renverser ce systême et réfuter l'érudition dont on a tâché de l'appuyer. Dans la déposition de deux témoins entendus à Carcassonne, qui parlent de FIGURA BAFFOMETI, il est évident que c'est par une faute d'orthographe ou de prononciation que ce mot est ainsi écrit, au lieu de Mahometi, soit qu'alors dans les provinces du midi, on prononçat ainsi le nom de Mahomet, soit que le copiste ait écrit par erreur Baffometi, comme il a écrit en même temps asorare pour adorare; et ce qui doit ne laisser aucun doute à cet égard, c'est que le second témoin prétend qu'on lui fit prononcer Y ALLA, mot des Sarrazins, dil-il, qui signifie Dieu. Enfin, on restera convaincu que les inquisiteurs ont voulu faire avouer aux tè moins que les Templiers rendaient un culte à Mahomet, et que ce mot ne s'applique qu'à Mahomet, si l'on se souvient que l'un des témoins entendus à Florence, prétend qu'en lui montrant l'idole, on lui disait: "Voici votre Dieu et votre Mahomet.' ECCE DEUS VESTER ET VESTER MAHUMET." Raynouard, p. 301. Appendix. Note (G g.)-Page 245. Some of the best witnesses for the history of the middle ages affirm, that, seduced by the preaching of fanatics, the children of France and Germany, about the year 1213, thought themselves authorized by Heaven to attempt the rescue of the sepulchre, and ran about the country, crying, "Lord Jesus Christ, restore thy cross to us." Boys and girls stole from their homes, "no bolts, no bars, no fear of fathers or love of mothers, could hold them back," and the number of youthful converts was thirty thousand. They were organized by some fanatical wretches, one of whom was taken and hanged at Cologne. The children drove down France, crossed the Alps, and those who survived thirst, hunger, and heat, presented themselves at the gates of the sea-ports of Italy and the south of France. Many were driven back to their homes; but seven large ships full of them went from Marseilles; two of the vessels were wrecked on the isle of St. Peter, the rest of the ships went to Bugia and Alexandria, and the masters sold the children to slavery. These singular events are mentioned by four contemporary writers. 1. Alberic, monk of Trois Fontaines, in his Chronicle, p. 459, edit. Leibnitz. 2. Godfrey of St. Pantaleon, in his Annals, p. 381, in the first vol. of Freher, Rer. Germ. Scrip. edit. Struve. The editor cites in his margin, a Belgic chronicle as a testimony, 3. Sicard, bishop of which I have not seen. Cremona, in Muratori, Rer. Ital. Scrip. vii. p. 623. 4. M. Paris, p. 204. Roger Bacon, who flourished in the middle of the thirteenth century, thus speaks of the crusade of children: Forsan vidistis ant audistis pro certo quod pueri de regno Franciæ semel occurrebant in infinita multitudine post quondam malignum hominem, ita quod nec a patribus, nec a matribus, nec amicis poterant detineri, et positi sunt in navibus et Saracenis redditi, et non sunt adhuc 64 anni. Opus Majus, p. 253. Honest Fuller says, "this Crusade was done by the instinct of the devil, who, as it were, desired a cordial of children's blood, to comfort his weak stomach, long cloyed with murdering of men." History of the Holy War, book iii., chap. xxiv. In illustration of the foregoing History the following Genealogical Tables are annexed. 1. The Latin Kings of Jerusalem. 2. Princes of Antioch. 3. Counts of Tripoli. 4. Counts of Edessa. |