News of Zengi’s death brought joy to Christian Syria. Now the timorous young Count Joscelin called up an army, thinking that with Armenian help he might overwhelm the Turkish garrison at Edessa and win back his capital. Jubilant Christians opened the gates at his approach. He slaughtered every Turk excepting a few in the citadel and quickly appealed to Jerusalem for help because Nur al-Din would hear about this soon enough. Not one Frankish soldier arrived from Jerusalem, nor Antioch, nor any Christian enclave.
What of Nur al-Din Mahmud? Swarthy, tall, with luminous eyes, a goatee or neatly sculpted little beard to accentuate his features. He carried two bows and two quivers stuffed with arrows when riding into battle, so impatient was he to kill Christians. He dressed roughly and seldom thought of comfort. His wife objected, complained about such austerity, so he gave her three shops in the city of Hims from which she might collect twenty dinars a year. She complained this was not much. No more do I have, said he, for I am but the custodian of Muslim wealth. Nor would I deceive my people, nor cast myself into hell on your account. Yet it seems he could be liberal enough, granting huge amounts for public works at Shaizar, Aleppo, Hamat, Baalbek, and other cities, endowing hospitals and dervish monasteries and caravanserai along the roads. It is said that he would stand up when scholars or priests came into his presence and bade them sit beside him, nor contested their opinions however much he disagreed. Ibn al-Athir, who proudly claimed to have read the history of many sovereigns, declares that except for caliphs long past he could think of no man so virtuous and just as Nur al-Din. Unlike his father, he drank no wine and forbade his soldiers to drink. He would not listen to the tambourine or flute, calling such music offensive to Allah. Very often he got up at night to pray. Angrily he rounded on those who reproached him for distributing so much to Sufis, doctors of law, students of the Koran, dervishes and the like. With them, said he, rests all my hope. And having learned that Mahomet carried his sword in a scabbard, unlike his own warriors who carried swords in their belts, what did he do but insist they emulate the Prophet as best they might. Few men ever saw him smile. He loved the game of polo, otherwise but one desire suffused his heart, to kill Franks, to reconquer what was lost. He scorned the radiance of Christian belief, spurned the beauty that was offered.
On the second day of November he appeared beneath the walls of Edessa. That night Joscelin’s little army slipped away hoping to cross the Euphrates. Nur al-Din followed. Next day he caught them and the Franks scattered. Count Joscelin, wounded in the neck, escaped to a castle beyond the river. Nur al-Din returned to Edessa. Thousands met the sword, thousands more enslaved. That emir who seized an attractive girl when Zengi took Edessa now went looking among the captives and there she was. Zengi, considering her youth, made him let the child go, but Nur al-Din did not. Where she was taken, what became of her, ancient chronicles do not relate. Lord God, since Thy aid goes out to one and all, how should such things be?
Patriarch Michael the Syrian speaks of Edessa as a charnel house inhabited by jackals, vultures, rats, lizards. At night came vampires to suck and chew the flesh of murdered citizens. No living men approached, none except those in search of treasure. A city mutilated, abandoned, silenced. Who but Jeremiah would lament further on this?
We know our Lord is a mighty fortress, the music of His voice like thunder. And so the onslaught of doubt receded. And people spoke of the Holy Land, thinking that with God’s help they should banish evil from the bounds of His commonwealth. Pope Eugenius III in his bull, Quantum praedecessores, called for a new expedition.
In the year of our tuition 1146 it came about that Bernard de Clairvaux stood preaching on a hillside at Vézelay. As happened before when His Holiness Urban spoke at Clermont, multitudes listened. Few could restrain their tears when Bernard spoke of Turkish infamy, ravagement, oppression, misusage. Edessa was taken. Edessa, bulwark of strength, was lost. If, therefore, Saracen tides engulfed the Holy Land where might Christians turn for hope and revelation?
God’s unsleeping enemies mock the broken glory of Christ’s endeavor, he declared. So I consider you a blessed generation since you have been caught up in a year pleasant to the Lord, a year of jubilee. That cross cut from cloth does not fetch much if sold, but worn on the shoulder it is worth the kingdom of God. As lords on earth invest their vassals with some slight token, does not the cloth and thread of the Cross represent God’s ineffably greater gift? Has He not placed Himself in a position of necessity? Yet is not this for the benefit of His children? He wishes to be thought the debtor so that He may offer wages to all who serve, perpetual riches. Is it not true that many hustle to market when there is cheap pork to buy, yet dawdle toward Christ’s kingdom in Heaven?
Sanctified by the purity of his nature, armed with apostolic authority, speaking with the voice of a trumpet, he exhorted those listeners to undertake the journey, granting absolution, remission from sin. Nor should those on pilgrimage encumber themselves with vain superfluities, nor high lords travel with dogs, with falcons on their wrists, in expectation of temporal delight. Many who listened felt persuaded. They cried aloud vociferously for the insignia of faith, cried out to mark themselves with the vertical and horizontal sign, so many that the parcel of crosses he had brought proved inadequate. They say Bernard gave up his red sacerdotal vestments to be cut in the shape of crosses.
King Louis VII, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine by his side, resolved to accept the sweet yoke of Christ, as did numerous Frankish barons. Abbot Suger, the king’s minister, strove to dissuade him, arguing that he should address the needs of France, but King Louis like men everywhere sought invisible things. Some dispute with Count Thibault once led him to invade Champagne. At Vitry-sur-Marne he set fire to Thibault’s castle. Flames leapt to the village. Citizens rushed into the church for sanctuary but King Louis put it to the torch. The roof tumbled down on those inside, which crushed a thousand or more. Shrieks of the dying rang in his head until he thought he must beg absolution at the Holy Sepulcher. Otherwise he saw little hope of eternal bliss. Therefore he took the cross at Vézelay.
Odo the monk describes how King Louis en route to Saint Denys entered a leper house to purge his mottled soul, humbling himself in search of grace, appealing the severity of God. And because our Lord responds to all, surely He did not fail to succor a troubled king of France.
At Saint Denys, in the presence of Abbot Suger and His Holiness Eugenius, King Louis prostrated himself to adore the saint, after which the pontiff unfastened a gold door and with Abbot Suger lifted out a silver reliquary that King Louis kissed, which his soul loved. Then from above the altar Louis took the imperial oriflamme in lieu of a common pilgrim staff and received from His Holiness the purse, symbol of pilgrimage. Next he withdrew to the monks’ dormitory to prepare himself. He dined in the refectory with these monks, obtaining from them the kiss of peace. Then he departed amid tears and prayers.
Abbot Bernard, frail of body yet robust in spirit, flew hither and yon to make himself heard and God’s army multiplied. Women roused by the silken eloquence of his tongue vowed to accompany husbands or lovers. Many forsook the hearth to undertake this blessed journey. Stories were told of Frankish women who girded their soft bodies with chain mail and wore plumed helmets, whose captain had golden spurs. Some said Queen Eleanor would lead a company of Amazons. In Belgium and Germany, engulfed by thousands, he preached with surpassing loftiness, albeit few understood the Frankish tongue. Devils fled howling when he began to speak. Malignant ulcers shrank. Numerous miracles occurred. Philip, archdeacon at Liège, kept count of wonders, which exceeded three hundred.
But as he could not visit every Christian country he addressed the faithful by letter. To the people of England he wrote.
May the warrant of Christ excuse my presumption. I am myself a person of small account, yet my desire for our Lord is very great, which is my reason and motive for writing. The earth shudders. The earth is affrighted because that land in which our Lord manifested Himself, where He lived
among men for more than thirty years, which He made glorious through miracles, which He blessed with His blood, is menaced and threatened and compromised. The enemy of God like a serpent lifts his head to strike, to devastate that blessed land. Alas! Should there be none to withstand this evil, then will he overturn the arsenal of our redemption. Then will he desecrate holy places. He casts greedy eyes upon the sanctuary. He longs to violate that couch upon which Our Gracious Lord fell asleep in death. Therefore, you mighty men of England, rise up! O mighty soldiers of England, O men of war, rise up! Now comes the day of abundant salvation, now is the acceptable hour. In this cause may you fight without peril to your souls. Beneath the banner of His name is it glorious to conquer, when death is not loss but gain. And the Evil One beholding the glitter of your swords will gnash his teeth and shrivel.
To Bavarians and eastern Franks he wrote. O, what are you doing? Servants of the Cross, why do you hesitate? Do you not know how many sinners have obtained forgiveness in Jerusalem because the swords of your fathers have cleansed the temple? O my brothers, what darkens and clouds your minds? Do you think the hand of Our Lord has shortened? Do you think He is powerless to save? Could He not send twelve legions of angels? For you know He has the power. But I say that He wishes you to gain merit by setting aside earthly consideration. He looks down on you. He waits. He wishes to know if any among you understand His plight and seek Him and grieve. O sinners, gaze into the depths of His love! For what is this but a chance to obtain the salvation that God alone can provide? He wishes to be the debtor who bountifully reimburses those who labor in His cause. He will reimburse you with everlasting glory. He will remit your terrible sins. For this opportunity are you called a blessed generation. You live in a year agreeable to the Lord, rich in remission. If you are a prudent merchant fond of goods, behold! I show you a wondrous market. If the cross of cloth is sold, does it fetch much? But its value exceeds a kingdom if worn on the shoulder of one who serves God. Those who have taken the heavenly emblem have felt the power of His touch. O my brothers! Seize what is provided for your salvation!
He wrote to citizens of Bohemia. I speak to you about the business of Our Lord, wherein lies redemption. I am, like you, an ordinary man, yet I am not ordinary in my desire for Jesus Christ. To you, therefore, do I deliver my heart in spite of the distance between us. I would speak to you of divine mercy, of a new abundance. Blessed are they that walk the earth in this year of remission, of veritable jubilee, for the Lord has not bestowed such munificence upon previous generations. He has not lavished upon our fathers such copious grace. Listen! O listen, my brothers! Wickedness occupies the land of promise. Evil men feast their eyes upon the sanctuary of our belief. They would stain the very bed of Jesus. They would corrupt a dwelling purpled with the blood of the immaculate lamb. Why, therefore, do you hesitate? Be quick to accept the gift that is promised. Seize the opportunity of apostolic indulgence. Listen! Listen! Next Easter will the army of God set forth and I say to you that it will pass through Hungary. You have with you the lord bishop of Moravia, a learned and holy man who will impart to you the wisdom provided by God, who will encourage and direct you in these matters. No pilgrim shall wear silken garments, nor miniver, nor multicolored clothing. None shall fasten gold or silver ornaments to the trappings of his horse, only to his shield and to the wood of his saddle. But when the army marches into battle any man is free to wear silver or gold so the sun may shine upon him and reflect his courage and melt the courage of pagans. I would expand on this, were it not for the lord bishop of Moravia. Obey him. Be attentive, be diligent. Glory awaits you.
Multitudes enrolled. Bernard could write to His Holiness that castles and villages stood deserted while seven women looked hard to find one man for company.
Thus, high-born Nivelo announced by charter that to expiate wrongdoing he would go on pilgrimage.
Whoever earns pardon through the grace of heavenly atonement, who would free himself from the onerous burden of misdeeds, whose weight bears upon his soul and prevents its flying up to heaven, must look to the end of malfeasance. Therefore, I, Nivelo, born to a nobility that often engenders ignobility of mind, do renounce oppression of the poor, a custom bequeathed me from my father. In a manner that was usual I did tread and trample upon Emprainville by seizing the goods of inhabitants. I, taking with me a troop of knights, would descend upon foresaid village to make over their goods. Therefore, in hope of divine acquittal, I go to Jerusalem. Toward expenses the monks have given me ten pounds in denarii and gave three pounds to my sister Comitissa in return for her consent. Forty solidi did they give my brother Hamelin, this being acceptable to my son Urso and other relatives. If, in the course of events, any shall be tempted to break the strength of this concession, may he be transfixed by the thunderbolt of anathema. May he drop into hell with Dathan and Abiram to suffer egregious torment forever. In confirmation of this I make the sign of the cross with my own hand. I pass the document to my son called Urso, and other relatives and witnesses, for all to endorse by making their signs.
Monarchs enrolled. Conrad, emperor of Germany, took the cross, which was splendid and wonderful because the Turks did not live close by. More dangerous were Jews all around. Würzburg annals relate how the body of a man chopped in bits was discovered, two pieces of him fished from the river Main, another close to Thunegersheim, yet another found among the mills toward Bleicha, other pieces in a ditch opposite Katzinwichus tower. Hence the citizens of Würzburg as well as pilgrims who gathered in the city were seized with frenzy and rushed through the streets impetuously killing Israelites, children, women, old and young. Also, signs had been observed at the grave where the victim’s parts were buried. The mute could speak, the lame could walk, the blind could see, and other miraculous things. Accordingly the pilgrims began to venerate the slaughtered man and carried leavings of him and thought he should be canonized. Bishop Siegried, however, resisted this importunity, which aroused such indignation that he hid himself in a turret to avoid being stoned. And the canons lived in such dread that on the most holy night of Maundy Thursday they would not ascend to the choir to sing matins. Also, in Norwich it was rumored that Israelites had murdered a Christian child. Also, in France many complaints sounded that Israelites contributed nothing toward the relief of the Holy Land. Our Lord was delivered to death on behalf of these people, to frightful death, that of the Cross, where in those days thieves were hung as now we hang them on gallows. How should pilgrims march great distances to behold their sanctuary and wreak vengeance on Muslims if all around live Jews whose forefathers slew our Lord and crucified Him for no cause? We would attack God’s enemies in the East, said they, yet here are God’s worst enemies, Jews, before our eyes. So we are doing the work backward.
Be that as it may, with kindly spring rain warming the earth Emperor Conrad boarded ship at Regensburg to lead his troops along the Danube. So mighty an army accompanied him that the river seemed not broad enough nor fields wide enough for those on foot. This according to Otto of Freisingen. Through Hungary and Bulgaria they went without offense. But when they came to Greece, home of double-faced knaves, petty disputes and turbulence hobbled their progress.
At Constantinople these Germans broke into the wondrous pleasure garden of Emperor Manuel Comnenus where captive animals wandered peaceably through woods and drank from streams as if enjoying their natural surrounding. The Germans butchered these creatures or turned them loose while Manuel Comnenus watched from a palace window. Whether Germans proceed to sin through love of evil is a matter of dispute and futile exercise.
Emperor Manuel wished to expel these barbaric travelers. Because they had not kept faith and violated their oath he thought to play the role of scorpion whose face looks benign but whose tail stings viciously. He offered guides to lead them past the Golden Horn to the wild desolate land of Cappadocia where they would find little water and less to eat, where they would be destroyed by Seljuk Turks. Some say he instructed these false guides to sicken the German
s by mixing chalk into their bread. Whatever the truth, at Dorylaeum here came Turks on light fast horses and the weary Germans encumbered with armor floundering through swamps and hollows. Of all who served under Count Bernhard, not one escaped. Before the sun went down at least eighty thousand Germans lay dead and Conrad himself, wounded twice, riding as fast as he could toward Nicaea. Michael the Syrian declares that overnight the price of silver in Cappadocia sank to the price of lead, so much booty did these Turks harvest.
King Louis advanced on Constantinople ignorant of what happened to Conrad, ignorant of Byzantine malice. A deputy from the scorpion Manuel greeted him at Ratisbon to deliver letters overflowing with such flattery that while listening to them read aloud he blushed. Manuel expressed the hope that King Louis would march through Greek land in a seemly and peaceable manner.
These Franks entered a world they could not understand. Odo from Deuil relates that in the village of Branitchevo where they bought provisions they saw coins made from pewter, which they considered unnatural. For each of these strange coins they must pay five centimes. They had done business at villages and castles along the way, but now they found every gate closed so they had to camp outside the walls. Whatever they wished to buy was let down in baskets. And since they could not get enough to eat they began to forage and steal, all because of German misconduct.
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