Heroines of the CrusadesBloss, C. A. (Celestia Angenette)
History
Heroines of the Crusades
Bloss, C. A. (Celestia Angenette)
Crusades; Crusades -- Biography; Women -- Biography
"On the morrow, therefore, of St. Bartholomew, being Sunday, the army was
drawn up, early in the morning, to advance along the sea-coast, in the
name of the Lord. Oh! what fine soldiers they were! You might there see a
chosen company of virtuous and brave youth, whose equals it would have
been difficult to meet with, bright armor and pennons, with their
glittering emblazoning; banners of various forms; lances with gleaming
points; shining helmets, and coats of mail; an army well regulated in the
camp, and terrible to the foe! King Richard commanded the van, and kept
the foremost guard. The Normans and English defended the standard, the
Duke of Burgundy and the French brought up the rear, and by their tardy
movements and long delay incurred severe loss. The army marched from the
seashore, which was on its right, and the Turks watched its movements from
the heights on its left. On a sudden the clouds grew dark, the sky was
troubled, when the army arrived at the narrow roads impassable for the
provision wagons; here, owing to the narrowness of the way, the order of
march was thrown into confusion, and they advanced in extended line, and
without discipline. The Saracens, observing this, poured down suddenly
upon the pack-horses and loaded wagons, slew both horses and men in a
moment, and plundered a great deal of the baggage, boldly charging and
dispersing those who opposed them, as far as the seashore. Then there took
place a fierce and obstinate conflict; each fought for his life. Oh, how
dreadfully were our men then pressed! for the darts and arrows thrown at
them broke the heads, arms and other limbs, of our horsemen, so that they
bent, stunned to their saddle-bows; but having quickly regained their
spirits, and resumed their strength, and thirsting for vengeance, like a
lioness when her whelps are stolen, they charged the enemy and broke
through them like a net. Then you might have seen the horses with their
saddles displaced, the Turks fleeing and returning, and the battle raging
fiercer than before; the one side labored to crush, the other to repel;
both exerted their strength with the utmost fury, till King Richard
hearing that the rear was put into great confusion, rode at full gallop to
their assistance, cutting down the Turks right and left like lightning
with his sword. And quickly, as of yore the Philistines fled from
Maccabeus, so were the Turks now routed, and so did they fly from the face
of King Richard and make for the mountains; but some of them remained
amongst us, having lost their heads."
This extract is a fac-simile of all the chances and changes that occurred
to the Christians on their passage from Acre to Jaffa.
CHAPTER IX.
"He that hath nature in him, must be grateful;
'Tis the Creator's primary great law,
That links the chain of beings to each other."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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