Boy Crusaders: A Story of the Days of Louis IX. Read online

  CHAPTER V.

  TAKING THE CROSS.

  A CENTURY and a half had elapsed since Peter the Hermit rousedChristendom to rescue the Holy Sepulchre, and since Godfrey and theBaldwins established the Christian kingdom of Jerusalem; and in theinterval, many valiant warriors--including Richard Coeur de Lion, andPhilip Augustus, and Frederick Barbarossa--had gone forth to light inits defence; and the orders of military monks--the Knights of theTemple, the Knights of St. John, the Knights of St. Katherine of Sinai,and the Teutonic Knights, had risen to keep watch over the safety of theHoly Sepulchre. But the kingdom of Jerusalem, constantly exposed to rudeshocks, far from prospering, was always in danger of ruin; and in 1244the Holy City, its capital, was taken and sacked by a wild race, withouta country, known as the Karismians, who, at the sultan's instance,slaughtered the inhabitants, opened the tombs, burnt the bodies ofheroes, scattered the relics of saints and martyrs to the wind, andperpetrated such enormities as Jerusalem, in her varying fortunes, hadnever before witnessed.

  When this event occurred, the Christians of the East, more loudly thanever, implored the warriors of Europe to come to their rescue. But, asit happened, most of the princes of Christendom were in too much troubleat home to attend to the affairs of Jerusalem. Baldwin Courtenay,Emperor of Constantinople, was constantly threatened with expulsion bythe Greeks; Frederick, Emperor of Germany, was at war with the Pope; theKing of Castille was fighting with the Moors; the King of Poland wasfully occupied with the Tartars; the King of Denmark had to defend histhrone against his own brother; the King of Sweden had to defend histhrone against the Tolekungers. As for Henry King of England, he wasalready involved in those disputes with the Anglo-Norman barons whichultimately led to the Barons' War. One kingdom alone was at peace; andit was France, then ruled by Louis IX., since celebrated as St. Louis,that listened to the cry of distress.

  At that time Louis King of France, then not more than thirty, butalready, as we have seen, noted for piety and valour, was stretched on abed of sickness, and so utterly prostrate that, at times, as has beenrelated, he was thought to be dead. Nevertheless, he did recover; and,snatched as if by miracle from the gates of death, he evinced hisgratitude to Heaven by ordering the Cross to be fixed to his vestments,and vowing to undertake an expedition for the rescue of the HolySepulchre.

  The resolution of the saintly monarch was not quite agreeable to hisfamily or his subjects, any more than to his mother, Blanche ofCastille; and many of his lords made earnest efforts to divert him fromhis purpose. But remonstrance proved unavailing. Clinging steadfastly tohis resolution, Louis summoned a Parliament at Paris, induced theassembled magnates to take the Cross, occupied three years withpreparations on a great scale, and ultimately, having repaired to St.Denis, and received from the hands of the papal legate the famousstandard known as the oriflamme of France, embarked at Aigues Mortes,and sailed for Cyprus, with his queen, Margaret of Provence, hisbrothers, the Counts of Artois, Poictiers, and Anjou, and many of thegreatest lords of his kingdom.

  Meanwhile, the barons of England were not indifferent to what waspassing on the Continent. Many of them, indeed, were desirous to takepart in the expedition. But King Henry not only forbade them to assumethe Cross, but would not allow a crusade to be preached in hisdominions. No general movement was therefore made in England.Nevertheless, William Longsword, Earl of Salisbury, grandson of thesecond Henry and Rosamond Clifford, determined on an 'armed pilgrimage,'and, in company with Lord Robert de Vere and others, vowed to join theFrench Crusaders and combat the Saracens. Henry, enraged at his mandatebeing disregarded, seized Salisbury's manors and castles; but the earl,faithful to his vow, embarked, with De Vere as his standard-bearer, andwith two hundred English knights of noble name and dauntless courage,sworn to bring the standard back with glory, or dye it with theirhearts' blood.

  At the same time Patrick, Earl of March, the most illustrious noble whosprang from the Anglo-Saxon race, announced his intention ofaccompanying King Louis to the East. Earl Patrick had seen more thanthreescore years, and his hair was white, and his limbs stiff; but hishead was still as clear, and his heart was still as courageous, as inthe days when he had dyed his lance in Celtic blood, vanquished thegreat Somerled, and carried the Bastard of Galloway in chains toEdinburgh; and, with an earnest desire to couch against the enemies ofChristianity the lance which he had often couched against the enemies ofcivilisation, he took the Cross, sold his stud on the Leader Haughs topay his expenses, bade a last farewell to Euphemia Stewart, his agedcountess, received the pilgrim's staff and scrip from the Abbot ofMelrose, and left his castle to embark with his knights and kinsmen.

  'I was young, and now I am old,' said Earl Patrick, with enthusiasm. 'Inmy youth I fought with the foes of my race. In my old age I will fareforth and combat the foes of my religion.'

  It was under the banner of this aged hero that Guy Muschamp and WalterEspec were about to embark for the East; and, on the evening of the daypreceding that on which they were to set out, they were conducted to thepresence of the mother of the lord of the castle, who was the daughterof a Scottish king, that they might receive her blessing.

  'My children,' said she, as they knelt before her, and she laid herhands on their heads, 'do not forget, when among strangers and exposedto temptation, the lessons of piety and chivalry which you have learnedwithin these walls. Fear God, and He will support you in all dangers. Befrank and courteous, but not servile, to the rich and powerful; kind andhelpful to the poor and afflicted. Beware of meriting the reproaches ofthe brave; and ever bear in mind that evil befalls him who proves falseto his promises to his God, his country, and his lady. Be brave in war;in peace, loyal and true in thought and word; and Heaven will bless you,and men will hold your names in honour, and you will be dreaded inbattle and loved in hall.'

  Next morning the brothers-in-arms rose betimes; and, all preparationsfor their departure having been previously made, they mounted atdaybreak, and leaving the castle of Wark, and riding through the greatpark that lay around it, startling the deer and the wild cattle as theywent, took their way towards Berwick, before which rode the shipsdestined to convey them from their native shores.