THE REAL #JEWS #MOORS A depiction of the second siege of Antioch from a French manuscript around AD 1200 ON TO #JERUSALEM For the next several months, the #crusaders suffered from famine and disease and the trek to Jerusalem was halted. In the midst of these difficulties, several crusade leaders vied for control of the armies. Bohemond believed he had the rightful claim to his home city of Antioch. The one-eyed Frankish leader Raymond IV of Toulouse, who had earlier been the champion of Urban II’s call to crusade also sought his share of power. There was also the Frankish mystic and military genius Peter Bartholomew and his group known as #theHolyLance . No one could minimize their role in securing victory for the Christian armies. Raymond of Toulouse would, for all intents and purposes, lead the armies into Jerusalem. For several reasons, however, the other leaders of the First Crusade and the soldiers themselves had lost confidence in Raymond’s leadership. By the time the siege of Jerusalem ended in July 1099, the #Frankish #knight #Godfrey of Bouillon had emerged as the victorious leader of the First Crusade. Asbridge describes the arrival at Jerusalem: After nearly three years, and a journey of some 2,000 miles, the crusaders had reached Jerusalem. This ancient city, Christendom’s sacred heart, pulsated with religion. For the Franks it was the holiest place on earth, where Christ had suffered his Passion. Within its lofty walls stood the Holy Sepulchre, the church erected in the fourth century CE under the Roman Emperor Constantine to enclose the supposed sites of Golgotha and Jesus’ Tomb. This one shrine encapsulated the very essence of Christianity: the Crucifixion, Redemption, and Resurrection. The crusaders had marched east from Europe in their thousands to reclaim this church — many believing that if the earthly city of Jerusalem could be recaptured it would become one with the heavenly Jerusalem, a Christian paradise. When the armies arrived in Jerusalem, a bloodbath ensued. Schaff’s record of the siege are well-put: Jerusalem was reached early in June of 1099. The army was then reduced to twenty thousand fighting men. A desperate but futile assault was made on the fifth day. Boiling pitch and oil were used, with showers of stones and other missiles, to keep the Crusaders at bay. The siege then took the usual course in such cases. Ladders, scaling towers, and other engines of war were constructed, but the wood had to be procured at a distance, from Shechem. The city was invested on three sides by Raymund of Toulouse, Godfrey . . . and other chiefs. The suffering due to the summer heat and the lack of water was intense. The valley and the hills were strewn with dead horses, whose putrefying carcasses made life in the camp almost unbearable. In vain did the Crusaders with bare feet, the priests at their head, march in procession around the walls, hoping to see them fall as the walls of Jericho had fallen before Joshua. Friday, the day of the crucifixion, was chosen for the final assault. A great tower surmounted by a golden cross was dragged alongside of the walls and the drawbridge let down… The scenes of carnage which followed belong to the many dark pages of Jerusalem’s history and showed how, in the quality of mercy, the crusading knight was far below the ideal of Christian perfection. The streets were choked with the bodies of the slain. The Jews were burnt with their synagogues. The greatest slaughter was in the temple enclosure. With an exaggeration which can hardly be credited, but without a twinge of regret or a syllable of excuse, it is related that the blood of the massacred in the temple area reached to the very knees and bridles of the horses. Headed by Godfrey, clad in a suit of white lined, the Crusaders proceeded to the church of the Holy Sepulchre and offered up prayers and thanksgivings . . . The devotions over, the work of massacre was renewed. Neither the tears of women, nor the cries of children . . . none of these availed to soften the ferocity of the conquerors. Now that the European and west Asian Christians had control of Jerusalem again, they sought to appoint a new leader who would be given charge of holding and protecting the Holy City. The obvious choice was Godfrey of Bouillon, who was given the title, “defender of the Holy Sepulchre.” Christians began building projects throughout Jerusalem, which included castles, military structures, and houses of worship. Godfrey’s successor, Baldwin I (1058-1118), progressed the role of ruler even further, having himself crowned “king of Jerusalem.” The victory of Jerusalem was short-lived, however, and the call for further Crusades ensued . . . Next up: Part 3: Bernard of Clairvaux and the Second, Third, and Fourth Crusades (AD 1147-1209) “ Then might you have seen many a banner and pennon of various forms floating in the breeze ……. Helmets with crests, brilliant with jewels, and shining mails, and shields, emblazoned with lions, or flying dragons in gold.” -- Geoffrey de Vinsauf, Itinerary of Richard I The Crusades were a series of military campaigns during the time of Medieval England against the Muslims of the Middle East. In 1076, the Muslims had captured Jerusalem - the most holy of holy places for Christians. Jesus had been born in nearby Bethlehem and Jesus had spent most of his life in Jerusalem. He was crucified on Calvary Hill, also in Jerusalem. There was no more important place on Earth than Jerusalem for a true Christian which is why Christians called Jerusalem the City of God. However, Jerusalem was also extremely important for the Muslims as Muhammad, the founder of the Muslim faith, had been there and there was great joy in the Muslim world when Jerusalem was captured. A beautiful dome - called the Dome of the Rock - was built on the rock where Muhammad was said to have sat and prayed and it was so holy that no Muslim was allowed to tread on the rock or touch it when visiting the Dome.Therefore the Christian fought to get Jerusalem back while the Muslims fought to keep Jerusalem. These wars were to last nearly 200 years. Heraldry played an important role in the Crusades. Although we can trace the beginnings of Heraldry to a period prior to King Richard’s First Crusade, it was during that great adventure that the need for a developed system of armory became apparent, and the Heraldic emblems and nomenclature of the Middle Ages bear many traces of impressions left by the later Holy Wars. The impetus, which Richard’s expedition gave to Heraldry, is seen when a comparison is made between the Coats of Arms in use before the crusade and those in the Roll of Arms compiled later in the reign of Henry III. There are certain ubiquities in 12th century Coat of Arms, mainly due to the frequent repetitive use of only a small number of charges that were grouped and colored differently in order to produce differing Coats of Arms. The heraldic ordinaries, or charges, which consisted of birds and beasts, and common objects which served as a pun on the bearers name were the full range of arrows in the Herald’s quiver. But the Crusades gave birth to many new heraldic figures. The enrichment of Heraldry at this time is typical of the manner in which the ideas of Western Europe in art, science and philosophy were broadened through contact with the more ancient culture of the East
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 02:05:15 +0000
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