Warm thanks and much praise were bestowed
upon Cuthbert for his share in the capture of the
castle, and the earl, calling the foresters round him,
then and there bestowed freedom upon any of them who
might have been serfs of his, and called upon all
his knights and neighbours to do the same, in return
for the good service which they had rendered.
This was willingly done, and a number
of Cnut’s party who had before borne the stigma
of escaped serfs were now free men.
We are too apt to forget, in our sympathy
with the Saxons, that fond as they were of freedom
for themselves, they were yet severe masters, and
kept the mass of the people in a state of serfage.
Although their laws provided ample justice as between
Saxon man and man, there was no justice for the unhappy
serfs, who were either the original inhabitants or
captives taken in war, and who were distinguished by
a collar of brass or iron round their neck.
Cnut’s party had indeed long
got rid of these badges, the first act of a serf when
he took to the woods being always to file off his collar;
but they were liable when caught to be punished, even
by death, and were delighted at having achieved their
freedom.
“And what can I do for you,
Cuthbert?” Sir Walter said, as they rode homewards.
“It is to you that I am indebted: in the
first place for the rescue of my daughter, in the
second for the capture of that castle, which I doubt
me much whether we should ever have taken in fair fight
had it not been for your aid.”
“Thanks, Sir Walter,”
the lad replied. “At present I need nothing,
but should the time come when you may go to the wars,
I would fain ride with you as your page, in the hope
of some day winning my spurs also in the field.”
“So shall it be,” the
earl said, “and right willingly. But who
have we here?”
As he spoke a horseman rode up and
presented a paper to the earl.
“This is a notice,” the
earl said, after perusing it, “that King Richard
has determined to take up the cross, and that he calls
upon his nobles and barons to join him in the effort
to free the holy sepulchre from the infidels.
I doubt whether the minds of the people are quite prepared,
but I hear that there has been much preaching by friars
and monks in some parts, and that many are eager to
join in the war.”
“Think you that you will go
to the war, Sir Walter?” Cuthbert asked.
“I know not as yet; it must
much depend upon the king’s mood. For myself,
I care not so greatly as some do about this question
of the Holy Land. There has been blood enough
shed already to drown it, and we are no nearer than
when the first swarms of pilgrims made their way thither.”
On Cuthbert’s returning home
and telling his mother all that had passed, she shook
her head, but said that she could not oppose his wishes
to go with the earl when the time should come, and
that it was only right he should follow in the footsteps
of the good knight his father.
“I have heard much of these
Crusades,” he said; “canst tell me about
them?”
“In truth I know not much, my
son; but Father Francis, I doubt not, can tell you
all the particulars anent the affair.”
The next time that Father Francis,
who was the special adviser of Dame Editha, rode over
from the convent on his ambling nag, Cuthbert eagerly
asked him if he would tell him what he knew of the
Crusades.
“Hitherto, my son,” he
said, “the Crusades have, it must be owned,
brought many woes upon Europe. From the early
times great swarms of pilgrims were accustomed to
go from all parts of Europe to the holy shrines.
“When the followers of the evil
prophet took possession of the land, they laid grievous
burdens upon the pilgrims, heavily they fined them,
persecuted them in every way, and treated them as if
indeed they were but the scum of the earth under their
feet.
“So terrible were the tales
that reached Europe that men came to think that it
would be a good deed truly, to wrest the sepulchre
of the Lord from the hands of these heathens.
Pope Urban was the first to give authority and strength
to the movement, and at a vast meeting at Claremont
of 30,000 clergy and 4000 barons, it was decided that
war must be made against the infidel. From all
parts of France men flocked to hear Pope Urban preach
there; and when he had finished his oration, the vast
multitude, carried away by enthusiasm, swore to win
the holy sepulchre or to die.
“Mighty was the throng that
gathered for the First Crusade. Monks threw aside
their gowns and took to the sword and cuirass; even
women and children joined in the throng. What,
my son, could be expected from a great army so formed?
Without leaders, without discipline, without tactics,
without means of getting food, they soon became a scourge
of the country through which they passed.
“Passing through Hungary, where
they greatly ravaged the fields, they came to Bulgaria.
Here the people, struck with astonishment and dismay
at this great horde of hungry people who arrived among
them like locusts, fell upon them with the sword,
and great numbers fell. The first band that passed
into that country perished miserably, and of all that
huge assembly, it may be said that, numbering, at
the start, not less than 250,000 persons, only about
100,000 crossed into Asia Minor. The fate of
these was no better than that of those who had perished
in Hungary and Bulgaria. After grievous suffering
and loss they at last reached Nicaea. There they
fell into an ambuscade; and out of the whole of the
undisciplined masses who had followed Peter the Hermit,
it is doubtful whether 10,000 ever returned home.
“This first attempt to rescue
the holy sepulchre was followed by others equally
wild, misguided, and unfortunate. Some of them
indeed began their evil deeds as soon as they had
left their home. The last of these bodies fell
upon the Jews, who are indeed enemies of the Christian
faith, but who have now, at least, nothing to do with
the question of the holy sepulchre. As soon as
they entered into Germany the Crusaders put them to
death with horrible torture. Plunder and rapine
indeed appeared to be the object of the crusaders.
On this as well as on most other preceding bands,
their misdeeds drew down the vengeance of the people.
At an early period of their march, and as soon as
they reached Hungary, the people fell upon them, and
put the greater portion to the sword.
“Thus, in these irregular expeditions
no less than 500,000 people are supposed to have perished.
Godfrey de Bouillon was the first who undertook to
lead a Crusade according to the military knowledge
of the day. With him were his brothers Eustace
and Baldwin, the Counts of Anault and St. Paul, and
many other nobles and gentlemen, with their retainers,
well armed and under good order; and so firm was the
discipline of Duke Godfrey that they were allowed
to pass freely, by the people of the countries who
had opposed the previous bands.
“Through Hungary, Bulgaria,
and Thrace he made his way; and though he met with
many difficulties from Alexius, the crafty and treacherous
Emperor of the Greeks, he at last succeeded in crossing
into Asia. There he was joined by many from England,
as well as from France and other countries. Duke
Robert, the son of our first William, led a strong
band of Normans to the war, as did the other great
princes of France and Spain.
“The army which crossed the
narrow passage of the Hellespont is estimated at no
less than 700,000 fighting men. Of these 100,000
were knights clad in complete armour, the remainder
were men-at-arms and bowmen.
“Nicaea, the place which had
been the scene of the massacre of Peter the Hermit’s
hosts, was taken after a desperate conflict, lasting
for many weeks, and the crusaders afterwards defeated
the Turks in a great battle near the town of Doryleum.
After these successes disputes arose among the leaders,
and Count Baldwin, brother of Duke Godfrey, left the
main body with about 1500 men, and founded a kingdom
for himself in Mesopotamia.
“The main body, slowly and painfully,
and suffering from disease, famine, and the heat,
made its way south. Antioch, a city of great strength
and importance, was besieged, but it proved so strong
that it resisted for many months, and was at last
only taken by treachery.
“After the capture of this place
the sufferings of the crusaders so far from being
diminished were redoubled. They themselves during
the siege had bought up all the food that could be
brought from the surrounding country, while the magazines
of the town were found, when an entry was effected,
to be entirely deserted. The enemy, aided by a
great Persian host, came down, and those who had been
the besiegers were now besieged. However, when
in the last strait the Christian army sallied out,
and inspired with supernatural strength, defeated
the Turks and Persians, with a slaughter of 100,000
men. Another slow movement to the south brought
them into the Holy Land, and pressing forward, they
came at last within sight of Jerusalem itself.
“So fearful had been the losses
of the crusaders that of 700,000 who crossed the Hellespont,
not more than 40,000 reached the end of the pilgrimage.
This fragment of an army, which had appeared before
a very strongly fortified town, possessed no means
of capturing the place-none of the machines
of war necessary for the purpose, no provisions or
munitions of any kind. Water was scarce also;
and it appeared as if the remnant of the great army
of Godfrey de Bouillon had arrived before Jerusalem
only to perish there.
“Happily just at this time a
further band of crusaders from Genoa, who had reached
Jaffa, made their appearance. They were provided
with stores, and had skilled workmen capable of making
the machines for the siege. On July 14th, 1099,
the attack was made, and after resistance gallant and
desperate as the assault, the crusaders burst into
the city, massacred the whole of the defenders and
inhabitants, calculated at 70,000 in number, and so
became masters of the holy sepulchre.
“The Sultan of Egypt was meanwhile
advancing to the assistance of the Mohammedans of
Syria; but Godfrey, with 20,000 of his best men, advanced
to meet the vast host, and scattered them as if they
had been sheep. Godfrey was now chosen King of
Jerusalem, and the rest of his army-save
300 knights and 200 soldiers, who agreed to remain
with him-returned to their home. The
news of the victory led other armies of crusaders to
follow the example of that of Godfrey; but as these
were almost as completely without organization or
leadership as those of Peter the Hermit, they suffered
miserably on their way, and few indeed ever reached
the Holy Land. Godfrey died in 1100, and his brother
Baldwin succeeded him.
“The history of the last 100
years has been full of fresh efforts to crush the
Moslem power, but hitherto it cannot be said that fortune
has attended the efforts of the Christians. Had
it not been indeed for the devotion of the Knights
of St. John and of the Templars, two great companies
formed of men who devoted their lives to the holding
of the sepulchre against the infidel, our hold of
the Holy Land would have been lost.
“Gradually the Saracens have
wrested post after post from our hands. Edessa
was taken in 1144, and the news of this event created
an intense excitement. The holy St. Bernard stirred
up all France, and Louis VII. himself took the vow
and headed a noble army. The ways of God are not
our ways, and although the army of Germany joined
that of France, but little results came of this great
effort. The Emperor Conrad, with the Germans,
was attacked by the Turk Saladin of Iconium, and was
defeated with a loss of 60,000 men. The King
of France, with his army, was also attacked with fury,
and a large portion of his force were slaughtered.
Nothing more came of this great effort, and while
the first Crusade seemed to show that the men-at-arms
of Europe were irresistible, the second on the contrary
gave proof that the Turks were equal to the Christian
knights. Gradually the Christian hold of the
Holy Land was shaken. In 1187, although fighting
with extraordinary bravery, the small army of Christian
Knights of the Temple and of St. John were annihilated,
the King of Jerusalem was made prisoner, and the Christian
power was crushed. Then Saladin, who commanded
the Turks, advanced against Jerusalem, and forced
it to capitulate.
“Such, my boy, is the last sad
news which has reached us; and no wonder that it has
stirred the hearts of the monarchs of Europe, and that
every effort will be again made to recapture the holy
sepulchre, and to avenge our brethren who have been
murdered by the infidels.”
“But, Father Francis, from your
story it would seem that Europe has already sacrificed
an enormous number of lives to take the holy sepulchre,
and that after all the fighting, when she has taken
it, it is only to lose it again.”
“That is so, my son; but we
will trust that in future things will be better managed.
The Templars and Hospitallers now number so vast a
number of the best lances in Europe, and are grown
to be such great powers, that we may believe that
when we have again wrested the holy sepulchre from
the hands of the infidels they will be able to maintain
it against all assaults. Doubtless the great
misfortunes which have fallen upon the Christian armies
have been a punishment from heaven, because they have
not gone to work in the right spirit. It is not
enough to take up lance and shield, and to place a
red cross upon the shoulder. Those who desire
to fight the battle of the Lord must cleanse their
hearts, and go forth in the spirit of pilgrims rather
than knights. I mean, not that they should trust
wholly to spiritual weapons-for in truth
the infidel is a foe not to be despised-but
I mean, that they should lay aside all thoughts of
worldly glory, and rivalry one against another.”
“And think you, Father, that
such is the spirit with which King Richard and the
other kings and nobles now preparing to go to the Holy
Land are animated?”
Father Francis hesitated.
“It is not for me, my son, to
judge motives, or to speak well or ill the instruments
who have been chosen for this great work. It is
of all works the most praiseworthy, most holy.
It is horrible to think that the holy shrines of Jerusalem
should be in the hands of men who believe not in our
Redeemer; and I hold it to be the duty of every man
who can bear arms, no matter what his rank or his
station, to don his armour and to go forth to battle
in the cause. Whether success will crown the effort,
or whether God wills it otherwise, it is not for man
to discuss; it is enough that the work is there, and
it is our duty to do it.”
“And think you, Father, that it will do good
to England?”
“That do I, my son, whether
we gain the Holy Land or no. Methinks that it
will do good service to the nation that Saxon and Norman
should fight together under the holy cross. Hitherto
the races have stood far too much apart. They
have seen each other’s bad qualities rather than
good; but methinks that when the Saxon and the Norman
stand side by side on the soil of the Holy Land, and
shout together for England, it must needs bind them
together, and lead them to feel that they are no longer
Normans and Saxons, but Englishmen. I intend
to preach on the village green at Evesham next Sunday
morning on this subject, and as I know you are in
communication with the forest men, I would, Cuthbert,
that you would persuade them to come in to hear me.
You were wondering what could be found for these vagrants.
They have many of them long since lost the habits
of honest labour. Many of them are still serfs,
although most have been freed by the good earl and
the knights his followers. Some of those who
would fain leave the life in the woods, still cling
to it because they think that it would be mean to
desert their comrades, who being serfs are still bound
to lurk there; but methinks that this is a great opportunity
for them. They are valiant men, and the fact that
they are fond of drawing an arrow at a buck does not
make them one whit the worse Christians. I will
do my best to move their hearts, and if they will but
agree together to take the cross, they would make a
goodly band of footmen to accompany the earl.”
“Is the earl going?” Cuthbert asked eagerly.
“I know not for certain,”
said Father Francis; “but I think from what I
hear from his chaplain, Father Eustace, that his mind
turns in that direction.”
“Then, Father, if he goes, I
will go too,” Cuthbert exclaimed. “He
promised to take me as his page the first time he went
to war.”
Father Francis shook his head.
“I fear me, Cuthbert, this is
far from the spirit in which we a while ago agreed
that men should go to the holy war.”
Cuthbert hung his head a little.
“Ay, Father Francis, men; but
I am a boy,” he said, “and after all, boys
are fond of adventure for adventure’s sake.
However, Father,” he said, with a smile, “no
doubt your eloquence on the green will turn me mightily
to the project, for you must allow that the story you
have told me this morning is not such as to create
any very strong yearning in one’s mind to follow
the millions of men who have perished in the Holy Land.”
“Go to,” said Father Francis,
smiling, “thou art a pert varlet. I will
do my best on Sunday to turn you to a better frame
of mind.”