XV. 1229-1250. year that Damascus fell into the hands of the arch- CHAP. enemy of the Christians, Sultan Nodgemeddin. One of the stock charges brought against the Emperor was, that he was in the habit of receiving envoys from this representative of Saladin. But the Templars themselves in their distress were glad to imitate Frederick and send an embassy to the feet of the Sultan of Cairo. The Mohammedan scowled at them, reproached them with their disloyal conduct towards the Emperor and the Earl of Cornwall, and refused to allow his prisoners to be ransomed. 'If you wish for the release of your brethren,' said the interpreters, all you have to do is to ask for the intercession of the Emperor Frederick, whom our Lord loves and respects above all men.' The Templars, haughty as ever, replied, 'Never, so long as we breathe, will we agree to this!' Their great patron the Pope, seeing that there was hardly a Castle in Palestine able to hold out against the Moslem, asked Nodgemeddin to grant a truce. The Sultan's answer to 'the universal mouthpiece of the Christians, the leader of the sons of baptism,' is still extant. It runs thus; A messenger came before us from the holy Pope, and we put faith in his words concerning Christ, of whom we know more than you do, and whom we glorify more than you do. We also wish for peace; but the Pope knows of the friendship that has been established between us and the Emperor since the time of the Sultan my father; and you know how matters stand between you and the Emperor. Our messenger at his Court will wait upon you and bring back your answer, upon which we shall act for the advantage of all in common.' The Papal Court declared that Frederick had CHAP. prompted this letter, in order to secure peace for himself. XV. 1229-1250. In 1247, the preachers of the Crusade were active, but the wars raging in Germany and Italy prevented any succour from reaching Palestine. When Jerusalem fell into the hands of Saladin, sixty years earlier, all Christendom had rushed to the rescue; but now only one King made any serious efforts to save the the Holy City from the grasp of Saladin's greatnephew. In 1248, St. Louis steered for Cyprus, followed by the chivalry of France. Two friars, disciples of Abbot Joachim, had beheld the embarkation of the gallant host, and had amid general execration foretold the coming disaster.* Frederick took care to supply his Royal brother with provisions, and in vain begged leave to accompany him; this the rancour of the Church would not allow. The Sixth Crusade was now fairly on foot. Late in 1249, Damietta once more fell into the hands of the Crusaders, soon to be again lost by their rashness. The spirit of Cardinal Pelagius seemed to be guiding the illfated undertaking. Early in 1250, the whole French army became the prisoners of the new Sultan of Cairo, the son of Nodgemeddin. This disaster far surpassed those of 1221, 1239, and 1244. It was asked why the Lord had abandoned his followers? of what use were prayers and almsgiving? was the law of Mohammed better than that of Christ? The Greek fire and the Saracen galleys on the Nile were once more employed with fatal effect. The Count of Artois and the Earl of Salisbury were the noblest victims. The three knightly Orders, as at Gaza, lost almost * Salimbene, who was then in Provence. every man they had. King Louis, whose life had been with difficulty spared, hastened from the scene of shame to hide his head at Acre; and even that city was threatened by the conquering Paynim. The Templars and Hospitallers, the Genoese and Pisans, furnished the sorrow-stricken Crusader with money to pay his ransom.* He found Acre a prey to its usual broils. Queen Alice was dead, but her son and John of Ibelin were in full vigour. The Pope was supporting the Lusignans against the Hohenstaufen Princes, and demanded that the Count of Acerra should be driven from Tripoli. Even the clergy were taking part in the struggle, not always on the side of their Head. The Pisans, staunch as ever to Frederick, used to hoist his standard as their galleys sailed into Acre, and even unfurled the hated ensign in the Churches during festivals, to the peril of their souls and the scandal of the public.' The Emperor's rights were respected by the French, who refused to yield up certain places in the Holy Land to the Sultan, because these towns belonged to Frederick. It was now an era of transition; changes occurred with startling rapidity. An Oriental revolution had, curiously enough, been witnessed by St. Louis during his stay in Egypt. The race of Saladin lost their crown; Cairo became the prize of their murderers; and the Mamelukes installed themselves in the palaces of the grandson of Sultan Kamel, Frederick's beloved ally. Not many years afterwards, Frederick's own grandson lost his life and his claim CHAP. XV. 1229-1250. * M. Paris, whom see for all the events in Palestine. СНАР. XV. 1229-1250. to the Crown of Jerusalem, a barren honour; but this event is beyond our limits. On reviewing the course of affairs in Palestine between 1229, the year of Frederick's departure from its shores, and 1250, we are struck by the rotten and unhealthy state of the whole body politic. Every class, every nation, every Order had its own private interests, to which it was ready to sacrifice the common weal. It was not so much the power of the Moslem as the factiousness of the Christians that overthrew the work begun by Godfrey and restored by Frederick. When that Emperor left Acre, everything went to ruin. The one strong hand was wanting, which had held all together, and had saved the Crusaders in spite of themselves. After 1229, the Templars had their own way. Yet for sixty years longer the handful of Christians held their precarious ground, clinging with desperate grasp to the strip of land they occupied, though expecting every moment to be pushed into the sea by the overpowering strength of the Moslem. A champion would every now and then come forward, whose presence for an instant revived drooping hopes and seemed to promise salvation. The choicest spirits of Germany, France, Italy, and England appeared on the scene. Hermann von Salza, St. Louis, Theobald Visconti, and Edward Longshanks, all visited the Holy Land after the departure of Frederick the Second. The wisdom of the statesman, the chivalry of the saint, the zeal of the churchman, and the vigour of the warrior, were alike placed for a moment at the service of the Christians in the East. But all was in vain; the disease was incurable; it was a righteous retribution that drove from the Holy Land those who were unworthy to hold it. About forty years after Frederick's death, Acre, which had witnessed his efforts and his requital, was lost; the one remaining stronghold of the Christians, at that time a foul sink of iniquity, fell into the hands of the Moslem. With the loss of Acre the Crusades came to an end, having drained the blood and treasure of Christendom for two hundred years. The Thirteenth century, which was witness to so many changes, saw at its end a race of men who cared not to risk their lives in the sands of Gaza or on the banks of the Nile, and who were deaf to the calls of Rome. The Holy See had overthrown the Hohenstaufens; it was soon to become an accomplice in the doom of their worst enemies, the Knights of the Temple. СНАР. XV. 1229-1250. |