Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/96

70 the rights he had acquired by his marriage, implored the Pope for assistance at this critical juncture. Innocent I [I., who at the time occupied the papal chair, entered warmly into his views, and supported by Robert de Courçon, an English priest, who partook largely of the enthusiasm and zeal of St. Bernard and Peter the Hermit, caused a new Crusade to be preached throughout western Christendom.

The first results of these efforts showed themselves in the force which in the year 1216, with Andrew, king of Hungary, at its head, made its way to the East. At Cyprus, Andrew met the Master of the Hospital, with whom he had appointed a rendezvous, and escorted by his fleet of galleys they proceeded in company to Acre. Here he refused the palace which the king of Jerusalem had prepared for his reception, preferring to take up his abode at the convent of St. John. Whilst residing there he was so impressed with the admirable manner in which the duties of the Hospital were conducted, not only at Acre but also at Margat, which place he visited as well, that he announced his desire of becoming a knight of the Order. Anomalous, as it undoubtedly was, for a monarch whilst retaining his crown to take upon himself the monastic obligations of poverty, obedience, and chastity, his desire was complied with, and he was enrolled amongst the ranks of the fraternity. Thus the king of Hungary became the first crowned head received as a knight of St. John, and he celebrated the event by a becoming act of dotation, settling upon the Order an annuity of seven hundred silver marks, secured upon the salt mines of his country. His brief stay in Palestine was of no real benefit to the kingdom.

His was a character far too unstable for any great enterprise, and before he had been three months at the head of his army he wearied of the undertaking. This impulse of restlessness was aggravated by grief at the assassination of his queen, the news of which had reached him whilst at Cyprus. The result was that he abandoned the Crusade, and in spite of the threats of excommunication fulminated against him by the patriarch, returned to Europe.

John of Brienne was not deterred by this defection from carrying on the struggle. Fresh bodies of crusaders having