Page:Cassell's Illustrated History of England vol 1.djvu/145

A.D. 1099.] strength of the fortifications, and so obstinate the defence of the Turks, that it became necessary to construct engines of assault similar to those which had been used in the siege of Nice. Catapults and movable towers were prepared, and to these was added a machine called the "sow," made of wood and covered with raw hides to protect it from fire. The hollow space within was filled with soldiers, who, with this protection, were occupied in undermining the walls.

To secure success to the final effort of the enterprise, the leaders exerted themselves to heal the dissensions which had hitherto existed in the army, and Tancred set an example of conciliation by embracing his foe, Raimond of Toulouse, in sight of the troops. An expiatory procession, headed by the chiefs and the clergy, was made round the walls of the city, and prayers were offered up at some of the holy places in the neighbourhood for the success of the Christian arms. These demonstrations were treated by the Turks with contempt. They mocked at the procession as it passed before them, and having raised the cross upon the walls, they threw dirt upon the sacred symbol. The anger of the Crusaders was excited to the utmost, and their interpretation of the religion of peace permitted them to mingle oaths of vengeance with the prayers for victory.



The preparations having been completed, the towers were rolled up to the walls, and the attack commenced. The chiefs of the Christian army appeared on the higher stages of the towers, and Godfrey of Bouillon himself was seen with a crossbow in his hand directing his shafts within the town. The Turks replied by pouring out sheets of flame and flights of arrows upon their assailants. The assault had continued for ten days without result, when the Crusaders redoubled their efforts. Some soldiers from the tower of Godfrey effected a lodgment upon the walls, and were immediately followed by the Lord of Lorraine, with Baldwin de Bourg, and other chiefs of the army. Robert of Normandy and Tancred forced open one of the gates, and the standard of the cross was raised upon the walls of Jerusalem, July 10, 1099.

The details of the massacre that ensued form one of the bloodiest pages of history. The Turks, after a vain attempt to dispute the advance of the Crusaders, fled to the mosques, and were slain before the altars. The inhabitants of the city were put to the sword without distinction, women and children sharing the fate of their husbands and their fathers. Ten thousand men are said to have been butchered in the Temple of Soliman, where they had attempted to defend themselves. Streams of blood flowed down the streets of the city, and few of the infidel race escaped the carnage. Such was the vengeance taken by the Crusaders for the persecutions suffered by the Christians in Jerusalem; such were the deeds of horror perpetrated in the name of the Saviour of mankind, as though the Majesty of Heaven could be propitiated by a libation of human blood. The leaders of the Crusade had been taught to believe that in directing the work of slaughter they were engaged in an act acceptable to God, and that the highest duty of religion lay in the extermination of the infidel.

It became necessary to place the safety of the Holy City in the care of one powerful chief, and Godfrey of Bouillon was elected the first King of Jerusalem. He was invested with his new dignity in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, but refused to be crowned, saying that it was not fitting that he should wear a crown of gold in the city where the Saviour had been crowned with thorns.



On the return of Godfrey from an expedition against the Saracens, the Emir of Cæsarea went to the king, and offered him the fruits of Palestine. Godfrey ate an apple, and fell sick so suddenly, that it was supposed he had been poisoned. He returned with difficulty to his capital, and there died, July 18, 1100. His body was laid near to the sepulchre of that Saviour in whose cause, though with a mistaken devotion, he had given his life.



It does not fall within the scope of this history to trace the progress of events at Jerusalem under its Latin kings. Some account may, however, be given of the origin of two powerful orders of knighthood, which indirectly owed their origin to the First Crusade.

In the year A.D. 1048, some merchants from Amalfi obtained permission from the caliph to build a hospital at Jerusalem for the protection of pilgrims. A piece of ground near to the site of the Holy Sepulchre was assigned to them for this purpose, and a chapel and hospital were built there, the first being dedicated to St. Mary, and the second to