and princes, both of France and Germany, and a vast concourse of people.
After the less important business of the meeting had been transacted, Urban came forth from the church in which the council was held, and addressed the multitude gathered in the market-place. He recounted the long catalogue of, wrongs suffered by the Christians in the Holy Land from the pagan[1] race. With an eloquence for which he was remarkable, he appealed to the most powerful passions which animate the breast of mankind; and the assembly rose up and cried with one voice—"It is the will of God! it is the will of God!"
The news of this council spread with wonderful rapidity over the world; and, in the words of an old historian, "throughout the earth the Christians glorified themselves and were filled with joy; while the Gentiles of Arabia and Persia trembled, and were seized with sadness: the souls of the one race were exalted, those of the others stricken with fear and stupor."
Some modern historians, in speaking of the influence possessed by Urban over the people, have reproached his memory for the use to which he applied his eloquence, and for having incited the people to the wild and bloodthirsty expeditions of the Crusades, with a view to his own interest. Such an accusation cannot be regarded as just. It is the part of wisdom, as of charity, to judge of a man's acts, not by a standard of pure and abstract right, but rather with regard to the times in which he lived and the influences by which he was surrounded. The spirit of the age was warlike and enthusiastic, and such a spirit may be traced through the conduct of Pope Urban; but there is no reason to doubt that he was sincere, and that he upheld the cause of the Crusades at the cost of great personal sacrifices.
CHAPTER XXXV.
The First Crusade—The Byzantine Empire—Siege and Capture of Jerusalem.
At the Council of Clermont a universal peace was proclaimed, called the Truce of God, and its observance was some time afterwards sworn throughout the country. Europe had long been in a disturbed condition; the weak were liable to be plundered by the strong without redress; and wars and feuds between rival princes were continued with little intermission. It is related that at the Truce of God these evils disappeared, and for a short time there was a profound peace.
Thieves and murderers—criminals of every dye, were tempted by the prospect of boundless licence, and joined the Crusade. Every man wore the sign of the cross upon his shoulder, cut in red cloth, and many adventurers assumed that sacred emblem in the belief that it would afford a perpetual absolution for any crime they might commit. But while preparing for the departure of the various expeditions, the Crusaders—even those of the most reckless character—abstained for a while from violence, and kept the Truce of God. This cessation of civil warfare must have endured some time, for among the wild spirits who joined the first body of the Crasade few, if any, lived to return, and the removal of so many plunderers and marauders must have produced a beneficial effect on the state of society in Europe.
People of every degree and of various nations were animated with the same ardent enthusiasm. Nobles sold or mortgaged their lands to raise money for the enterprise; poor men abandoned their homesteads and their families, and flocked to the standard of the cross. The old writers describe the sufferings occasioned by the parting of husbands from their wives, parents from their children. They tell us, however, of exceptions to these scenes of misery. Some wives and mothers there were who, in their fanatic zeal, animated their husbands to the journey, and parted from them without a tear.
In the year 1096, the first body of the Crusaders set out for the Holy Land under the command of Gautier sans avoir, or Walter the Penniless, a nobleman of Burgundy. This man was a soldier of fortune, noted for his poverty, but also possessed of some degree of military fame. The army which he led was a mixed rabble without order or discipline, who committed many excesses, and plundered the towns and villages which lay on their road. Amongst the other chiefs were Walter di Pesejo, Gottschalk, and William the Carpenter.
Passing through Germany, Walter entered Hungary, which country had been converted to Christianity several centuries before.
At Semlin some stragglers of Walter's army were attacked and plundered by a portion of the inhabitants, and the arms and crosses of the men who had thus been despoiled were placed as trophies upon the walls of the city. The Crusaders called for vengeance; but Walter restrained then: impetuosity, and passed on into Bulgaria. Here he found himself among a nation altogether hostile; the gates of the cities were shut against him, and his troops were unable to obtain food. Urged by hunger, they seized the flocks and herds of the natives, who attacked the invaders, and defeated them with great slaughter. Walter succeeded with great difficulty in collecting the remnant of his scattered multitude, and led them on the way to Constantinople. Here, after many privations, he at length arrived, and obtained permission from the emperor to await the arrival of Peter the Hermit.
Meanwhile there advanced over the plains of Germany a wild, disorganised multitude of all nations and languages. Men, women, and children were there; for women had at length been impelled by the fatal enthusiasm of the time, or by some equally powerful motive, to throw off the timidity of their sex, and to share the dangers of their husbands and their sons. Infants of tender age accompanied their parents, and the old and infirm dragged their weary steps in the rear.[2]
At the head of this multitude, which numbered forty thousand persons, rode Peter the Hermit, pointing, with outstretched arms, the way to Jerusalem. The march to the southern part of Hungary was conducted without much disturbance or violence; but when the Crusaders arrived before Semlin, their anger was roused by the sight of the arms and crosses of Walter's followers, displayed in triumph on the walls. A furious assault was made on the town,
- ↑ The word Paynim, or Pagan, was commonly used in the Middle Ages to Inclnde all Mahometans,
- ↑ "Who shall count," says Guibert of Nogent, "the children and the infirm, the old men and young maidens, who pressed forward to the fight, not with the hope of aiding, but for the sake of the crown of martyrdom to be won from the swords of the infidel?"
