Boy Crusaders: A Story of the Days of Louis IX. Page 8

  CHAPTER VII.

  THE ARMED PILGRIMS AT CYPRUS.

  NOT with the very best grace did the King of France come to theresolution of sailing for Cyprus. Indeed, the safety of his armydepended, in some degree, on the route selected; and the safest way tothe Holy Land was understood to be by Sicily. Unluckily, however, Sicilywas subject to the Emperor Frederick; and Frederick and his dominionshad been excommunicated by the Pope; and Louis, with his peculiarnotions, feared to set foot on a soil that was under the ban of theChurch. At Lyons, where he received the papal blessing, he endeavouredto reconcile the Emperor and the Pope; but his Holiness declined tolisten to mediation; and the saint-king, yielding to conscientiousscruples, determined, without further hesitation, to sacrifice his planof passing through Sicily to Syria, and announced his intention ofproceeding by way of Cyprus to Egypt.

  At that time the King of Cyprus was Henry de Lusignan, to whose familyRichard Coeur de Lion had, in the twelfth century, given the throne,from which he dragged the Emperor Isaac; and no sooner did Louis reachthe port of Limisso, than Henry, accompanied by nobles and clergy,appeared to bid him welcome. Nothing, indeed, could have exceeded theenthusiasm with which the French Crusaders were received; and when Louiswas conducted with much ceremony to Nicosia, and entered that city, thecapital of the island, the populace cheered loudly, and the clergy methim, singing 'Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord.'

  The glory of Nicosia has long since departed. Situated in the centre ofCyprus, on the river Pedia, in a low fertile plain, near the base of arange of mountains that intersects the island, and surrounded by walls,in the form of a hexagon, flanked with bastions, the capital has manyfine houses; but these are mostly in ruins, and the inhabitants occupytenements reared of mud and brick, and rather repulsive in appearance.At that time, however, the state of Nicosia was very different. As thecapital of the Lusignans, the city exhibited the pomp and pride offeudal chivalry, with much of the splendour of oriental courts, andboasted of its palaces, castles, churches, and convents, and chapelries,and gardens, and vineyards, and pleasant places, and all the luxurieslikely to render mediaeval life enviable.

  Now, when Louis landed at Limisso, and entered Nicosia, he had nointention of wintering in Cyprus. In fact, the saint-king was alleagerness to push forward and combat the Saracens. But circumstancesproved stronger than his will. The Crusaders were highly captivated withall that they saw and heard. The aspect of the island was enchanting;the wine, which even Solomon has deigned to celebrate, was to theirtaste: the dark-eyed Greek women, who perhaps knew that the island hadanciently been the favourite seat, of Venus, and who, in any case,enjoyed the reputation of being devoted to the worship of the goddess,were doubtless fascinating; and almost every one of the days thatsucceeded Louis's arrival was devoted to rejoicings and feastings. Notunnaturally, but most unfortunately, the Crusaders yielded to thefascinations of an existence which at first they all enjoyed, heart andsoul; and with one accord they cried out, 'We must tarry here tillspring. Let us eat, drink, and be merry.'

  Accordingly the Crusaders did winter in Cyprus; and the consequenceswere most disastrous. Enervated by luxury, they soon forgot their vows,and rushed into every kind of extravagance and dissipation. Of course,their recklessness soon brought its own punishment. As time passed on,and winter set in, rain fell daily, and the intemperance, the strangeclimate, and the weather soon did their work. By-and-by, a pestilentialdisease made its appearance in the camp of the pilgrims, and carried offthousands of victims, including two hundred and fifty knights. Moreover,there was much discord and dissension. The Greek clergy and the Latinclergy began to quarrel; the Templars and the Knights of St. John beganto fight; and the saint-king found his position the very reverse ofsatisfactory or agreeable.

  By the time that the little fleet, on board of which were Guy Muschampand Walter Espec, reached Cyprus, matters were not what they shouldhave been; and the wise and prudent shook their heads, and predictedthat an expedition conducted in such a fashion was too likely to end indisaster and ruin.