XII B

The crowning work of the first Crusade was not accomplished without hardship. On the fifth day after their arrivai, without the necessary siege-instruments, and with only one ladder high enough to reach the top of the walls, the Crusaders made a desperate assault upon the town. But their credulity and imprudence cost them dear ; and thcy realised that they must construct engines of war if they would be successful. Accordingly, for the next thirty days, a prey to ail the miseries of thirst, and exposed to the attacks of the Mussuhnans, they gave themselves with an incredible activity to préparations for a second attack. This took place on the I4th of July, 1099. Nothing could equal the fury of the first shock ; the Crusaders let loose ail their engines, and everywhere they were met by a stubborn résistance. At the end of the first day, and up to the middle of the second, victory did not appear to be décisive either for bcsieged or besiegers, when, ail at once, amid the bail of arrows and stones, and the din of missiles clashing in the air, the ardour of the Crusaders was rekindled by the sight of a knight on Mount Olivet rousing them to work their way into the town. From this moment résistance was at an end ; on ail sides the infidels took to flight, and Jérusalem was open to the army of the Cross.

The Iloly City, won al ihc price of so much blood, soon became the scène of the most terrible carnage ; in the midst of the dreadful tumult one could hear the groans and cries of the dying, and see the conquerors trampling ovcr the heaps of corpses, in their efforts to reach those who were vainly seeking to fly. The mutual hatred felt by the two armies for one another had been so violent, that scarcely any infidel escapcd the sword of the Christian. However, the pious dévotion of the newly-freed Christian

i82 Histoire de la Première Croisade

prisoners, and their enthusiasm for the vénérable hermit Peter, whom they proclaimed as their liberator, appeased the fury of the pilgrims, and restored order in the city. After some days spent in prayer and pénitence, they set themselves to elect a chief who would maintain the conquests which they had just made, and watch over their interests. The votes of the people and army entrusted the government of the country to Godfrey, who of ail the chiefs best deserved it, and who had so often led the pilgrims to victory.

Enticed by the security which Jérusalem now offered, the pilgrims from the most distant nations flocked thither, to render their thanksgivings for the great victory of the faith of Christ. Nor did the news that the Turks of Syria and Persia had patched up their quarrel with the Caliph of Egypt, and were advancing towards Ascalon, cause any disturbance in their minds. They quickly made ail necessary préparations, and put themselves in marching order. The nearer the Crusaders appeared, the more terror-stricken became the Egyptians, who had at first persuaded themselves that the Christian army would not dare to await their onset. When the battle began, at the first sign of defeat they fled from the battle-field. In the gênerai rout a great number threw down their ai^ms, and suffered themselves to be butchered without any attempt to défend themselves. " The sword of the Christians," to quote a contemporary chronicler, "mowed them down like ears of corn in the furrows, or bushy grass in the meadows."

The purpose of the first Crusade had now been accomplished. After the discomfiture of the Egyptian Sultan, the majority of the Crusaders returned to Europe, leaving

Passages for Translation into French 183

Godfrey with 300 knights under Tancred to défend their conquest.

The kingdom w hich Godfrey now set himself to establisli, consisted only of Jérusalem and some twenty towns in the neighbourhood. Several of thèse towns were separated from one another by places still in the possession of the infidels, and were constantly exposed to their threats and violence. The Crusaders soon began to abandon lands held at such péril, and Godfrey's first care was to give them the interest of ownership in their newly-acquired possessions, so that the country might not be without inhabitants and cultivators. The task of compiling a code of laws and instituting judicial courts, which he next undertook, was far more difficult, for among his subjects he had to reckon adventurers from every country, criminals flying from justice, and others who were little inclined to recognise his authority. Still the code eventually drawn up was the least impeifcct that had, up to that time, been seen among the French, and continued to guide the Latin principalities in the East for some years to come.

At the end of the first year of his rule in Jérusalem, while returning from an expédition on the other side of the Jordan, Godfrey fell ill and died. By his strength of will he had wielded, during his lifetime, great power over the Crusaders, and his namc must ever live among men as long as the memor)' of the Crusades themselves endures.