300

HOPES OF THE SARACENS.

been cast down before, inflamed the whole. No means usually employed produced the result of extinguishing the fire; and so rapid was its progress, that many of the Christian soldiers were burned to death before they could escape from the tower. The second and the third of these vast engines were destroyed in the same manner; and the Mahommedans without, who were watching with the greatest anxiety, beheld the flaming masses fall one after another with inexpressible satisfaction.

From the moment these towers had been constructed, they had caused great alarm, both within the town and in the camp of the sultan, and immense efforts had been made by his army to force the Christians to raise the siege. For three days and three nights, we are assured, Saladin continued to pour masses of chosen troops upon the lines of Guy of Lusignan; but the Christian forces, divided into two bodies, defended their own intrenchments and carried on the assault upon the town at the same time. No impression whatever was made upon their camp; and it was only when the crown of victory seemed within their grasp that the destruction of the towers snatched from them the result of all their labours. Another general battle took place almost immediately afterwards, the crusaders issuing forth from their intrenchments and attacking the right wing of Saladin's army, where they were at first victorious. Malek-Adel, who commanded in that quarter, was driven back; but the Christians immediately began to plunder the tents, especially seeking provisions, of which they were in great want; and taking advantage of the moment, the Mahommedan commander returned to the charge, seconded by Saladin in person and the main body of the Saracen troops. A tremendous slaughter then took place from the tents of Malek-Adel to the Christian camp. From seven to eight thousand perished, and the hopes and expectations of the Saracens were greatly raised, both by the victory they had gained and by the tidings, which arrived a few hours after, of the death of the Emperor Frederic, and the dispersion of a great part of his army.*

The depression of the Christians from this defeat was but temporary; for towards the end of July, Count Henry of Champagne appeared in the camp, with a considerable reinforcement; and the attack upon the town was renewed with

* Emadeddin.

PESTILENCE IN THE CHRISTIAN CAMP.

301

even more vigour than before. The general command of the army was placed under the count; a better system of discipline was established; and a wiser administration provided not only for the operations of the day, but for the reception and organisation of the fresh troops of crusaders which were constantly arriving from Europe. More than once the town was upon the point of being reduced by famine; but means were always found, sooner or later, to throw provisions into the place; and August and September passed in continual skirmishes, with very little advantage on either part.

Early in the month of October, the small remains of the German army, reduced, we are assured, to a tenth part of that which took the way to the Holy Land with Frederic Barbarossa, effected its junction with the besiegers of Acre. Frederic, Duke of Swabia, the deceased emperor's son, as was customary with newly-arrived crusaders, resolved to measure his strength at once with the sultan; and a long combat ensued, which only terminated at night by the retreat of the Germans into their intrenchments. New attacks upon the town followed, but with very little success; the resistance of the garrison was vigorous and determined, the military engines of the crusaders were burned or captured, and the carnage was often considerable.

A more terrible scourge than the sword, however, came at last to afflict the Christian army, and even affected, in a degree, that of Saladin. Pestilence spread far and wide, produced, it is probable, partly by famine, partly by the stench of the unburied corpses. Saladin retired for a time to Sephorim, in order to place his army in a more healthy position during the rainy months; but we find that many of his emirs died around him, while he himself was severely afflicted by fever during the greater part of the winter. The plague among the Christians, was still more severe, and we have received a long list of illustrious persons who died during the autumn of 1190; amongst whom were five archbishops, six bishops, and four abbots, besides an immense number of dukes, counts, and barons. The two principal Englishmen of note who here lost their lives, were Baldwin, Archbishop of Canterbury, and the famous Ranulph de Glanville.* Nothing,

The terrible virulence of the pestilence is shown by our finding such entries as the following: "Anselmus de Monte Regali et tota familia ejus."

however, seemed to stop the tide of the crusade. Death, by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, presented no terrors sufficient to counterbalance the enthusiasm of nations, and we find reinforcements, from every part of Europe, pouring into Palestine even to the latter end of 1190. As soon as the spring set in, the vigour of the war was renewed on both parts; the Christians attacked the town, and Saladin attacked the Christians; night or day there was no repose, and, although during the short period when the port was free Saladin had renewed the garrison and relieved the longbesieged forces which had hitherto made so gallant a defence, the fall of Acre seemed every day drawing nearer, when at length, on the 20th* of April, 1191, the sails of the French fleet appeared in sight, and Philip Augustus, with his army, landed on the shores of Syria. He was followed very speedily by the Count of Flanders; but the latter was seized, soon after his arrival, with the disease prevalent in the camp, and expired in a few days. We are assured by contemporary historians, that, the moment the eyes of Philip of Flanders were closed, the French monarch seized his treasures, and resolved to return to Europe with all speed, in order to make bimself master of the large and important territories left by the deceased prince ;† but many other causes probably combined to render a longer stay in the Holy Land unpleasant to Philip Augustus. Of these I shall speak hereafter, as I must now turn to notice an event which, by its results, spread fresh dissension amongst the Christian princes assembled for the deliverance of Palestine, and greatly affected the whole course of Richard's after-life.

Amongst all the distinguished personages who died during the siege of Acre, there was no one whose life was more valuable than that of Sybilla, Queen of Jerusalem, not because she possessed any personal qualities which commanded respect, but because her existence was the only common bond which united the great majority of the barons of Palestine in support of her husband, Guy. Death, however, which spares

Rigordus says that the king landed on the 13th, and I am inclined to think that this date may be correct, although the historiographer was not present, and Bohaeddin, who gives the time of Philip's coming as above stated, was an eye-witness.

† Hoveden.

AMBITION OF CONRAD OF MONTFERRAT.

303

not the palaces of kings, reached Sybilla in the camp before Acre; and the plague spread to her four infant children, who were consigned to the grave a few days after their mother.* Guy had been crowned King of Jerusalem, and fealty had been sworn to him by many of the barons of Palestine; but the title of Sybilla's younger sister, Isabella, to the throne, which had been considered by many even better than that of the late queen, at the death of Baldwin, might now well be urged, as the sole surviving descendant of Almeric. She had been married, at a very early age, to Humphrey of Thoron, the unworthy inheritor of a great name. But it would appear that her affection for her husband was not particularly strong; and the ambition of Conrad of Montferrat saw a by-path to the royal dignity opened by the death of Sybilla, and the contempt into which the husband of Isabella had fallen. This path was difficult to tread, indeed: for the first step was to procure the double divorce of the princess and Humphrey of Thoron, and of himself and his own wife, whom he had left in Constantinople. The next was to marry Isabella himself; and the last, to induce the nobles of the land and the crusading princes to declare the crown fallen from the head of Guy of Lusignan, by the death of Sybilla, and his own title good as the husband of Isabella. The divorce of Humphrey and Isabella was obtained without difficulty; for the ready cooperation of the princess had probably been insured beforehand; and, whatever was the pretence put forth by the clergy who pronounced the sentence, the arguments of Conrad seem to have been solely of a military and political nature. He represented that Humphrey was incapable of serving the Christian cause, and that he himself was both capable and willing. He even took advantage of circumstances which had greatly diminished his own popularity, to affect the leaders by hopes and fears. He had withdrawn from the siege of Acre, at a moment of the greatest danger and the greatest need. During a long time he had neglected to send supplies to the army of Guy, had made no effort to prevent it from perishing with

* Some authors mention only two children, and it is not improbable that some had died before their mother, but it is quite clear that the race of Sybilla was now extinct.

+ Bernard the Treasurer gives the following very unprepossessing character of this prince:-" Car Honfroi estoit si couart que ja ne porroit terre tenier."

304

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CONRAD AND GUY.

famine, and had been even suspected of too close an intimacy with Saladin.* Now, however, he prepared the way with gifts, and followed it with promises. He engaged the mother of the princess in his interest; and he vowed that, if he obtained the hand of Isabella, he would immediately send immense supplies to the army from Tyre, would apply his utmost energies to insure success to the Christian arms, and would hold no more correspondence with the sultan. Humphrey of Thoron seems to have been not at all unwilling to part with a cold and indifferent wife, or a doubtful title to a lost kingdom. The barons of Palestine were not famed for scrupulous morality, and did not at all object to a double and causeless divorce, or an adulterous marriage. The clergy, as was always the case, found legal motives for a course which suited their interests and probably filled their purses; and, with the exception of a few resolute priests, who expressed their disapprobation loudly, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, who excommunicated the young Lord of Montferrat, no one was found to offer any serious opposition to the marriage, which took place, we are assured, the very day after the divorce had been pronounced.

As soon as Conrad's objects were gained, his promises were forgotten. He boldly called himself King of Jerusalem, began to exercise sovereignty, and if we are to believe the accounts which were evidently current in the camp, he not only neglected to send the promised supplies, but impeded others who were willing to carry provisions to the forces before Acre. Nothing was heard throughout the Christian host but curses upon the Marquis of Tyre; and, under the horrors and distress of pestilence and famine, some thousands of the soldiery passed over to the camp of Saladin, and embraced the Mahommedan religion. Notwithstanding all these causes of complaint against him, Conrad once more appeared before Acre; but the cause of his coming was to demand the crown. Guy of Lusignan resisted, with the bold and determined spirit which he had lately shown on many occasions : the Germans in the camp, it would appear, adhered to Conrad; the English, the French, and some of the Italians, supported Guy; the barons of Palestine were divided; confusion and disorder were added to the evils which the crusaders had al

* Hoveden.