Heroines of the CrusadesBloss, C. A. (Celestia Angenette)
History
Heroines of the Crusades
Bloss, C. A. (Celestia Angenette)
Crusades; Crusades -- Biography; Women -- Biography
At Jaffa a new contention arose. The French barons, fatigued with marching
and fruitless skirmishing, advocated the policy of remaining a time in the
city and rebuilding its fortifications; while Plantagenet, anxious to
press his advantage, was desirous of proceeding to Ascalon. The soldiers
remembering with regret the "loaves and fishes" of Acre, inclined to the
counsel of the Duke of Burgundy, and Richard was forced to submit his
better judgment to the unanimous voice of his followers.
It was in vain that the king urged the soldiers to a rapid completion of
the works. The summer faded into autumn, and the fortifications were still
incomplete. The Moslems began to collect in the vicinity of Jaffa, and all
parties of Christians, whether of foraging or falconry, were subject to
frequent surprise and attack. On one occasion, a party of Templars fell
into an ambuscade of the Turks, and Richard, hearing of their danger,
rushed out with a few troops to their assistance. The conflict was
dreadful. Hordes of Infidels fell upon the little band, who, struggling in
the midst of their foes, with great loss carved their way to the city. On
their return, William Longsword remonstrated with the monarch for this
useless exposure of life, to which the generous Coeur de Lion, changing
color with indignation, replied, "Richard Plantagenet knows not the
prudence that weighs safety against glory, and for the rest it is the
office of a king to defend his subjects, and the business of a crusader to
destroy the enemies of the cross."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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